


The Road Ahead

by unpopcultural



Series: Across the Wasteland [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Background Cass/Veronica and Deacon/Sturges, Canon-typical language, Capital Wasteland, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, M/M, Mojave Wasteland, Post "Long Road Ahead", Post "Long Time Coming", Set in 2288, Spoilers for Fallout games, The Commonwealth, Wasteland Ladies Unite, What is this-a crossover episode?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-06-14
Packaged: 2018-09-16 02:29:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 48,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9269591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unpopcultural/pseuds/unpopcultural
Summary: After Father's devastating revelation, Nora heads west with Nick and MacCready to leave behind her old life.A lone wanderer named Jess tries to atone for past mistakes in the Capital Wasteland, a city more dangerous than ever.In New Vegas, Mari the courier struggles with the repercussions of the Second Battle of Hoover Dam.The lives of these three wasteland women converge. (What will they do with so many Pip-Boys?)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Alcohol

"You'd have to be pretty damn persuasive to convince me I'm not drinking super mutant piss right now," Nora told Hancock and MacCready, lifting the beer bottle to her nose and sniffing. "I was never much of a beer drinker in the first place, but I don't think you can even call this beer. Where did the vodka go?"

"Don't let Strong hear you saying that," Hancock muttered.

Nora scooted her Pip-Boy aside on the table so she could set the beer bottle next to it. Taking the Pip-Boy off when Nora was drinking was more of a habit than a necessity now. Before Sturges had wired up all the houses in Sanctuary for electricity, the Pip-Boy's flashlight served as a sort of campfire they would sit around to get wasted. Now, with the naked light bulbs swinging from the ceiling, they didn't need a flashlight, but Nora left it on anyway. The light made everything in the room glow green. Everything was probably radioactive already, but now it looked the part.

MacCready glanced at his own beer bottle for a moment before he shrugged and took a long drink. "It's not great, but super mutant piss is worse."

Nora snorted. "You don't know that."

Hancock sunk into the sofa and slid down his hat so it was covering his face. "I've been telling you, sister, try chems instead," he said, voice muffled. "Better high, better taste... well, most of the time.

MacCready rose to his feet and sauntered into the kitchen area. "Nora, I'll make you something that will-- What was that expression again?"

Nora's brow crinkled. "What expression?"

Mac sighed. "You know, the one you were trying to explain to me the other day in Diamond City. You were describing those noodles. It was stupid; it didn't make any sense. The kind of sh-- thing that pre-war people came up with. I mean, not you. Other ones."

"Noodles..." Nora repeated. "Oh! Are you referring to 'knock your socks off'?"

MacCready pointed at Nora through the hole in the wall and snapped his fingers. "That's it. I'm going to make you something that'll knock your socks off. Do we have any radscorpion venom?"

"Of course not," Nora lied, reaching for the bottle of vodka she had discovered by her feet. "Don't worry. This will suit me just fine. You can have the rest of my beer if you want."

They all turned at the sound of hammering from outside. Nora stood and looked out through the empty door frame that led into the workshop area. It was getting dark, but she could see Sturges's silhouette at the teleporter construction site. The buzzing of the generators had become a constant din in Sanctuary over the past few weeks as Sturges attempted to power whatever the hell it was that would get Nora into the Institute. Her stomach twisted when a blue bolt of light suddenly streaked across one of the towers. Yet again, Nora wished she was better at engineering so she could do more than sit around and wait.

"Looks like he's getting close," MacCready said, suddenly behind her.

Nora started slightly. "What? Oh, yeah. He said within the week."

"How are we feeling about that?"

Nora turned toward him. Mac's eyes glittered in the dim light as he looked at her expectantly.

"I'm ready," Nora said, perhaps a little too quickly. "I mean, this is it, right?"

"Sure is. But--"

"Please, Mac, I don't want to talk about it until it's actually ready." Nora forced a smile. "Right now, I just want to get really, really drunk. Okay?"

MacCready shrugged. "Fine by me."

Nora moved away from MacCready and returned to her seat. She took a deep swig of the vodka, coughing slightly at the burn. Hancock had returned his hat to his face and was snoring gently. Mac apparently forgot about making the sock-knocking drink and for a while, the three of them sat in silence.

Nora was one-third of the way through the bottle and feeling rather fuzzy when Codsworth floated into the room. "Mum? Mister Sturges sent me to tell you that the machine is ready."

The bottle nearly slipped from Nora's hand, but she caught it at the neck. Hancock jolted out of his sleep and stared at them blearily.

"Already?" Nora croaked. She felt the effects of the vodka behind her eyes, almost like she had been punched in the face. It was funny how she had never known what that felt like until she had been unfrozen a year ago. Being punched in the face, that is, not being drunk. The first time Nora was punched was during an attack on a raider camp. The second time was when Nick Valentine mistook her for a feral ghoul. The second time was worse. Synth hands were strong.

Nora hadn't realized she'd said all of this out loud until she noticed three worried pairs of eyes (Did Codsworth have eyes?) staring at her.

Hancock laughed. "It's late. Maybe Nora needs to go to bed and take a look at that contraption tomorrow. Can you tell Sturges that, Codsy, my man?"

"Certainly, _Mister_ Hancock," Codsworth said with as much annoyance as he could pour into his mechanical voice.

Then Hancock's hands were on Nora's shoulders and he was leading her into one of the bedrooms.

"Wait, wait, wait," Nora exclaimed, twisting herself out of his grasp. "I want to go see."

"Why not see it when you'll actually remember it?" Hancock chuckled lightly. "Come on, let's get you to bed."

"Hancock, I can handle myself." Nora tore away from him and marched past MacCready and Codsworth in the living room.

"Sturges!" Nora shouted once she was outside, although she already knew where he was. "Sturges!" It seemed that everyone else in Sanctuary had gone to bed, as the only light she could see ahead of her was the pinprick of Sturges's flashlight that wobbled in her vision.

"Over here, Nora!" came the reply.

Nora padded across the grass, realizing she'd forgotten her shoes when moisture soaked into her socks. "Oh, shit."

Sturges stood in front of the control panel, arms akimbo, and looked over his shoulder when Nora approached. "Glad you're awake. So, status update. I turned off the generators while I was tinkering with it, so all we've gotta do is juice this baby and I think it'll be ready to go."

Nora wobbled on one foot as she peeled off a sock, then switched sides. "What? What do you mean 'you think'?"

"I haven't exactly done this before," Sturges admitted, turning toward Nora and crossing his arms. "Oh, look, the gang's all here."

Nora glanced behind her to see that Hancock and MacCready had followed, Codsworth bobbing along after them. "That's so nice," Nora slurred. "But not all of the gang. Piper's not here... Or, or Nick." She shook her head rapidly. "Okay, so... so it's ready?"

Sturges lifted an eyebrow. "Are you drunk?"

Nora waved a hand. "Only a little. It doesn't matter. I just need to get in there, right? To find Shaun? Can I-- Can I hop on?"

"Fucking lightweight," Hancock said affectionately, resting an arm around Nora's shoulders.

Sturges glanced from Nora to Hancock, then back at Nora. "You know what? I just remembered that there are a few more things I need to tinker with. Do you think you could give me 'til the morning, Nora? I'm real sorry about that."

Nora blinked at Sturges. "I... guess so. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"God, no," Sturges said quickly. MacCready coughed and Sturges added, "I've got it handled. Thanks, though."

Nora vomited on the platform.


	2. Chapter 2

In the morning, Piper greeted Nora with breakfast on a tray.

"I thought you might need it," she explained. "Hancock told me all about your escapade last night."

"Escapade?" Nora groaned and massaged her temples. "Not sure I'd call it that. Oh, man, Sturges is going to throw a fit."

Dogmeat sprinted into the room and bounded onto the bed, licking Nora's face. Nora grinned and scooted into a sitting position. "Look at all this food! Thanks, Piper. That was really sweet of you. Is this tea?"

"Mutfruit tea," Piper said, sitting next to Nora and Dogmeat on the bed. "I make it for my sister when she's sick. Preston was a little irked that I took some mutfruit from the garden without asking, but I told him I shouldn't need a requisition form to make breakfast... He didn't seem to think that was very funny."

Nora shoved a handful of Sugar Bombs in her mouth and chewed, crumbs falling on the tattered blanket, where Dogmeat licked them up. "You're the best, Piper.

Piper smiled, but it faded quickly. "I'm afraid my intentions aren't all good, Blue."

Nora stopped eating. "What do you mean?"

Piper removed her hat and scratched at her hair. "Blue, I've really, really enjoyed exploring with you. I really have. It has been so much fun and you're a great person to be around. But I've gotta get back to Diamond City. It's Nat. She's a tough kid, but she can't keep taking care of herself like this. She says she's fine every time we stop by, but I need to be there for her. I'm the only person she has and... well, I just hope you aren't mad at me."

Nora's throat was suddenly very dry and she sipped the tea. It was sour but not unpleasant. She finally looked at Piper and smiled. "I understand. Family comes first."

Piper's lip trembled slightly. "So you're not mad?"

Nora leaned forward and wrapped Piper in a hug. It was awkward because Piper was facing sideways and Dogmeat was in between them, but it seemed to put Piper at ease. "Of course I'm not mad, stupid. Although I have to say I'll miss getting breakfast in bed. I can't see anyone else around here doing that for me."

Piper pulled away from the hug and laughed. "Are you sure?" She picked up the tiny wooden soldier on Nora's nightstand and bounced it on Nora's shoulder. "You're already receiving handmade gifts."

Nora swatted at Piper. "Put that back. Mac didn't even make it."

Piper obliged and stood up. "Well, Blue, I'm going to get my stuff packed before I head out. I would stop by before I go, but I think you're going to be a bit busy with everything today, and besides, I hate goodbyes. So... I'll see you around the Commonwealth?"

"Definitely," Nora agreed. "Thanks for everything, Piper."

Piper shut the door behind her and Nora stared down at the rest of her breakfast, no longer hungry. Ignoring the pounding behind her eyes, Nora dressed in the first clothes she could find, cargo pants and a bloodstained t-shirt. She promised herself she'd sprinkle some Abraxo on it later, and pulled on some shoes as she left what used to be her family's house.

It was early still, the grass shiny with dew, and the only other living being outside was Strong, who was milling around on the sidewalk and muttering to himself. Nora had planned to examine the teleporter, but since Sturges wasn't around, she headed toward the workshop.

Nora's power armor hung on the rack. She busied herself with its maintenance. She was tightening the bolts on the chestpiece when someone cleared his throat behind her. Nora whirled around guiltily, expecting Sturges, but MacCready stood there instead. He looked about as good as Nora felt, with mussed hair and dark circles under his eyes.

"Good morning," Mac said casually. "I wasn't expecting you to be up yet."

Nora returned to the power armor. "Piper brought me breakfast."

"Playing favorites, is she?"

Nora turned around again. "She's leaving. Going back to Diamond City."

"Oh." MacCready scuffed his shoe on the cement and squinted at her. "You got a nosebleed or something?"

"What?" Nora looked down at her shirt. "Oh, no. This is old. I think it might be Hancock's."

Mac raised his eyebrows. "It's Hancock's shirt?"

"No, Hancock's blood. I think. I don't actually remember. Could be yours for all I know."

"I think I'd remember bleeding all over your clothes."

Nora shrugged.

"You feeling okay?" MacCready asked. "After last night, I mean?"

Nora rested her head against the cool metal of the armor. "If people would stop bringing it up. I'm more embarrassed than anything."

"Hah. Don't be. We've all been there. Some more than others."

"You often barf on expensive pieces of machinery?"

"Well, no." Mac grinned. "Sturges was pretty pissed off. He held it together until Codsworth put you to bed, then he started yelling at me and Hancock like it was _our_ fault."

Nora groaned. "Terrific."

MacCready plopped down on Mama Murphy's chair and crossed his legs. "In all seriousness, I think he'll have it ready to go today, if you're up for it. I just wanted to say that I know this is a personal thing between you and Shaun, but if you want anyone to go with you, I'd be more than happy to. I won't even charge you." He winked.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Nick Valentine said gruffly, appearing from inside the house and taking a seat on a metal folding chair next to Mac. "Nora, do you remember when we were in Kellogg's memories and saw Kellogg and Shaun teleporting? That was very precisely calculated for two people. Whatever Sturges has going on over there is not going to be as precise. Bringing someone along with you might not end well."

Nora bit her lip. "What do you think would happen?"

"He means our body parts would get all mashed together and we'd turn into a centaur," MacCready said.

Nick sighed. "No. Well, I suppose it's a possibility. I just have a hunch it would be safer for you to go alone, Nora. I hope you realize I'm saying that out of concern for your safety." The mechanical pupils in his yellow eyes tightened. "Are you bleeding, Nora?"

"No, Hancock is," Mac said.

"Nobody is bleeding!" Nora said, whacking her wrench against the power armor frame. "Just, give me a moment to think. Okay, so I'll go alone. It will be fine, though. I won't be long. I'm just going to go in there, find my son, and... come back."

 

 

If Nora's plan seemed weak before, it sounded downright flimsy as she stood on the platform, streaks of blue lightening coursing over her head. The air smelled of electricity, and Nora felt her cropped hair tingling as it stood on end.

"Are you ready?" Sturges shouted over the roaring of the generators. 

Nora swallowed and tightened her fist over the wedding ring she wore around her neck. "I'm ready!"

Then the blue light was everywhere.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for Fallout 4 ahead.

They hadn't planned to set up camp around the teleporter. 

It started with Sturges, who dragged over a folding chair and began chain smoking as soon as Nora had vanished in a burst of crackling blue light and classical music. MacCready, always willing to bum a cigarette, joined him soon after, and then obliged Mama Murphy when she entreated him to carry her heavy green armchair to the site. Hancock eventually strolled over, breathing Jet, and Preston and Nick made sure to walk by every time one of them finished a lookout shift. Even Cait, the skinny redhead who had only been hanging around Sanctuary for a few days, brought over an old rug to sit on. By midnight, nearly everyone in Sanctuary was crowded around the teleporter, with only a lantern for light.

The silence was uncomfortable, but breaking it risked being even more so. Finally, Sturges grunted, "We don't know if this is where she'll teleport back to, you know."

"What do you mean?" Mac snarled, roused out of his daze. "Where else is a teleporter?"

Sturges shrugged, rubbing his eyes. "I dunno. I'm just saying. Maybe some of us should go to bed."

"I don't need to sleep," Nick said, but Jun and Marcy stood quietly and began shuffling back to their house. MacCready glared at their retreating figures.

"Nora would wait for us," Hancock rasped, tossing his Jet inhaler into the grass. He glanced at Preston and offered a smile. "Don't worry. I'll get it tomorrow."

"You'd better." Preston crossed his arms. "Hancock is right, though. Nora would wait for any one of us, so we should do the same for her."

The ghoulified Vault-Tec rep, Robert, nodded at Preston's words. "She helped me out when no one else would."

Mac had originally hated him, mostly because they shared the same first name, but the strange, overly eager man had since made himself indispensable to Sanctuary. He was the best gardener of the bunch, and Mac could hardly complain about more food.

"Yeah, she's a real saint, all right," MacCready said. He flicked a cigarette butt and watched the sparkle arc into the darkness.

"I do wish she'd help out a bit more with the other settlements," Preston mused quietly.

"She's trying to find her fucking kid, all right?" Mac said so quickly that he didn't have time to bite back the curse. "Give her a break."

Preston's eyes widened and he nodded curtly. "My apologies. Of course."

MacCready was ready to fight, but he sighed and unclenched his fists. Nora wouldn't be happy if she came back to a brawl.

"She'll find Shaun. I know it," Mama Murphy said, startling everyone. She had appeared to be asleep in her chair for the past hour. "I've seen it."

"Ya hear that? She's seen it!" Cait said, then cackled. "I like you, Mama Murphy. You're a real trip."

They lapsed back into silence. MacCready gazed at Strong's silhouette pacing back and forth at the guard post some yards away. Mac's eyelids felt heavy and he had to pinch the inside of his wrist to stay awake. Surely Nora would be back soon, unless... unless she was dead, of course. But Nora was tough, one of the toughest women he'd ever met. Then again, Lucy had been tough, too.

This troubling thought hanging in his mind, Mac fell asleep.

 

 

MacCready woke to excited voices around him. He cracked open his eyes. It was getting light out, but it was still too early to be aw-

"Nora!" He clambered to his feet and then froze.

Nora was wrapped up in Nick Valentine's arms, sobbing into his shoulder. There was blood in her hair and she was filthy, but more than that, the anguish radiated off her. Mac felt his excitement morph into a bitter nausea.

Some of the others were still asleep on their chairs (or in Cait's case, her rug), but everyone who was awake crowded around Nora.

"Give her some space," Nick said, waving his mechanical hand at Codsworth and Preston. "Come on, now."

Nora finally looked up from Nick's shoulder. Her gaze met MacCready's.

MacCready tried to ask the question with his eyes.  _Did you....?_

Nora shook her head sharply.  _No_.

 

 

Several hours later, after Nora had bathed and Preston had patched her up as best as he could, Nora finally spoke. She was sitting on her bed, dressed in a slightly less disgusting shirt, a wad of gooey antibacterial cream in her hair. She had allowed MacCready, Nick, and Hancock into her room and no one else, although Mac guessed she would have allowed Piper if the reporter had been there. Sturges accepted the news of Nora's rejection rather easily, but Preston couldn't quite hide his dejection when Nick told him.

"He wasn't my son," Nora choked out, lifting a mug of tea to her face, then setting it back down without drinking. "I mean, he  _was_ my son, but he wasn't  _my_ son." She looked up desperately. "Do you know what I'm saying? He... he was older than I expected. He wanted me to join the Institute."

"He  _what_?" Nick exclaimed. "I thought they kidnapped him. Does he have Stockholm Syndrome or something?"

Nora shook her head. "You don't understand. I'm sorry; I'm not making any sense. Shaun was-- Shaun  _is_ the Institute. He's in charge of it. The-- Nick, do you remember the kid we saw in Kellogg's memories? That wasn't Shaun. It was a synth. He's not my son. My son is gone."

"What'd you say to him?" Hancock asked. "When he wanted you to join the Institute?"

Nora's eyes flooded with tears and the next few words were almost incoherent. "I... I told him to fuck off. I told my own son to fuck off... I-- He sent me back above ground, but I ended up at C.I.T. I only spoke to him for... five minutes. After a year of looking for him, I spoke to him for five minutes." She buried her face into the pillow, shoulders shaking. When she exposed her face, it was blotchy and damp. "I need everyone to leave," she said. "Right now. I'm sorry."

Nick patted her on the shoulder and ushered the other men out of the room. At the door, MacCready paused and turned to Nora.

"I'm real sorry about your son. I..." He didn't know how to finish the statement.  _I'm glad I still have my son? I hope that never happens to me?_  "I... I'm sorry," he repeated, then shut the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Nora dragged her military duffle bag from one side of the workshop to the other, filling it with weapons, mines, tools, armor, and anything else that looked useful. Preston darted back and forth, trying to step in front of Nora to get her to stop moving.

"Listen, Nora," he pleaded as she whipped around and busied herself at the workbench. "You can't leave. We need you here. The Minutemen need you here. And not just here, but in all-- General, please!"

Nora chucked a hammer into the bag. "I'm not your general."

Preston gently touched her back, and Nora whirled to face him without meeting his eyes, glaring into his collar.

"Nora, I know you're hurting. We all know. We're very sorry, and we know a week isn't a long enough time to stop grieving. But you have to understand that this is bigger than any one of us. The Institute must be stopped. And what about the Brotherhood of Steel?" Preston crossed his arms over his chest and sighed heavily. "Remember when we first met, Nora? I was  _amazed_ because there was this woman, this person, who was willing to put herself in danger for the good of others. That's rare here, you know. What happened to that woman, Nora?"

Nora tilted her head and finally met Preston's gaze. His dark eyes were warm and inviting, and yet they made her feel sick. "She's gone, Preston. You have to know that I was doing everything for Shaun, okay? Without Shaun, I don't have a reason to be here anymore."

"You can't lie to me and say you've been helping people just for Shaun," Preston said, pointing at her. "You didn't  _need_ to help us build Sanctuary. You didn't  _need_ to offer Sheffield and Robert refuge here. You didn't _need_ to help MacCready with whatever personal stuff he's going through, but you did. Because you're a kind, caring person, and--"

"Stop it!" Nora shouted. She knelt down and zipped up the duffle bag. "You don't understand how much it hurts to be here. I'm sorry, Preston. I've done my part. You'll just have to find other people to help."

Nora hoisted the bag awkwardly over her shoulder and marched back to her house.

"Nora, wait!" Preston called from behind her, but he didn't follow.

Nora dropped the bag in the middle of the living room floor and sank down onto the ruined couch, head in her arms. She inhaled deeply. She wouldn't cry again. She wouldn't. She was done crying.

"Are you all right, Mum?"

Nora lifted her head. "Yes, Codsworth."

The robot floated in the kitchen uneasily. "Shall I fetch you a snack?"

Nora sighed. "I'm not hungry."

"You haven't been eating much lately," Codsworth observed. "For someone of your height and level of activity, I recommend a daily caloric intake of--"

"I'm fine," Nora interrupted him.

Codsworth floated closer, then dropped a box of Dandy Boy Apples into her lap. "Whoops. My fingers seemed to have slipped. Well, you may as well have it."

Nora couldn't help but laugh, the sound strange to her ears. "Thanks, Codsworth."

 

 

Nora addressed the whole of Sanctuary that evening, standing up on the platform where the teleporter had been. Sturges had torn it down for parts just a day following her return.

"I'm leaving the Commonwealth," Nora announced. "Tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I can't stay here anymore. If anyone wants to come along, that's fine, but I'm not expecting it. I..." She looked toward her old house and swallowed. "I really am sorry." She locked eyes with Preston. "Preston, I'm sorry. I'm being selfish, I know, but that's the way it's going to be. Maybe I'll come back sometime. I don't really know. I don't even know where I'm going. Anyway, uh... It has been a pleasure to get to know all of you. You probably hate me now, and I understand that, but, well..." She shuffled awkwardly and stepped down from the platform. "That's it, I guess."

Hancock was the first person to approach her. "Nora."

Nora shook her head. "I know you're disappointed in me. You've been a great friend, and I appreciate that."

One side of Hancock's mouth twitched into a smile. "Nah. I'm not mad at you, sister. I get it. You go on and help people outside the Commonwealth." Nora was about to protest, but he shushed her. "I know you will. That's who you are. I'd come with you, even, but, you know... Goodneighbor needs me. Sometimes, at least."

Nora's eyes welled up, and she hugged the ghoul tightly. "I'll miss you, Hancock."

He kissed her cheek. "I'll miss you too, sister."

"I won't miss her," MacCready said, strolling up to them.

Nora frowned at him over Hancock's shoulder and said bitterly, "You were the only one who I thought might understand."

MacCready lifted his palms. "Whoa, hold on a second. I'm not going to miss you because I'm coming with you."

Nora let go of Hancock. "Really?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, of course. You paid me to follow you around, remember?"

Nora scoffed. "You gave the caps back."

"Even so." Mac shrugged. "A mercenary's word is worth more than gold."

"Mac, you really don't have to..."

"Stop. I want to. I do have one condition, but we'll talk about that later."

Hancock made a face. "If your 'condition' involves anything unseemly, I will hear about it and come after you, MacCready."

"That won't be a problem," MacCready assured him. "My intentions are the purest."

Nora glanced around at the dispersing crowd of people. "Do you think anyone else will join us?"

"Not likely," Hancock said. "This is the first safe place some people have had in their whole lives. Not a lot of folks would give that up... Although maybe that butler robot would. He idolizes you."

Nora shook her head. "No, they'll need Codsworth here. I'm doing enough damage to Sanctuary without taking him along. And to be perfectly honest, he's next to useless in battle. I wonder if Strong would come? Might be nice to have a super mutant around."

"Heck, no," Mac protested. "I don't trust him. What if he goes crazy and murders us in our sleep?"

"Mac! He wouldn't do that."

Hancock considered it. "He might. Unfamiliar elements and all that."

"Fine. He stays here." Nora bit her bottom lip. "And Piper and Nick have responsibilities in Diamond City. I guess it's just you and me, then, Mac. I wasn't expecting anyone, so this is actually good news."

Mac smiled at her. "I should probably start packing. Sort through all that junk you make me carry."

Hancock offered Nora one more hug, then left her standing alone in front of the platform. She waited to see if anyone else would approach her, but it seemed as if business as usual was resuming in Sanctuary. Robert, the Vault-Tec rep, offered her a friendly nod from afar, but everyone else ignored her as if she hadn't made a speech at all. Nora was about to return to her house when someone called her name.

"Hold up, Nora." It was Nick Valentine. The sunlight made his silver skin shine.

"Hi, Nick. Sorry to leave you like this and everything."

Nick pulled his human-looking hand out of his pocket and offered it to Nora to shake. "I decided that I want to come with you," Nick said. "You said you didn't know where you were going, but if you're willing to head west, I'd like to visit Chicago. Or what used to be Chicago."

"Because of who you used to be?" Nora said hesitantly. "You know Chicago is extremely dangerous. Whatever you had there in your old life, it's not there anymore."

Nick's smile slipped and he lowered his hand. "I figured you might say that. Well, it doesn't matter. I'll go anywhere."

"But why would you want to leave the Commonwealth? What about your agency?" Nora asked. "Not that I'd mind having you along, but doesn't Diamond City need you?"

"I dunno," Nick murmured. "It's starting to seem like this maybe ain't the place for a guy like me. Anti-synth sentiment's getting stronger. I'm not getting many cases these days. If I was, I wouldn't have been able to accompany you for this long. In any case, I've grown kinda fond of you, kid, and I want to make sure you stay safe. MacCready's good with a gun, but he's only human, whereas I am not."

"How'd you know Mac was coming?"

Nick laughed. "I may be a synth, but I'm not stupid. Anyway, what do you say?"

Nora couldn't help the smile that bubbled up. She grasped Nick's hand and shook it. "Okay, then, Nick. I'd be happy to have you. Be ready tomorrow morning."

 

 

Nora lay on her stomach on the bed she had shared with Nate for three years. Well, the mattress wasn't the same, but the bed _frame_ was. Nora fingered the wedding ring hanging from her necklace. Once, and only once, Hancock suggested that Nora barter away the ring for caps. Nora's reaction ensured he would never mention it again. It was Nate's; she had buried her own ring with Nate's body when she had returned to Vault 111 with Piper a few months ago. Nora kept the ring around her neck because her hands took the brunt of the damage in combat and swelled up like crazy when it got hot. Post-War summers were a different breed than the ones Nora was used to.

"Hey, about that condition."

Nora lifted her head. "Doesn't anybody know how to knock?"

"No. You see, we don't have a lot of doors in this time period," MacCready quipped. "Do you mind if I come in, though?"

Nora sat up slowly, stretching her arms. "Come on in. So, what is it?"

Mac hovered for a moment before eventually sitting at the foot of the bed, right on the edge, the mattress dipping under his weight. "You might not want to do this, but I can only come along if we do. It's important. I... I want to get Duncan. It's been six months almost since he got the medicine, and he's doing a lot better. I miss him. And now I have no reason to leave him there. In fact, I'd like to get him out of the Capital Wasteland. It's not a safe place. Duncan's five years old now, and he won't give us any trouble getting wherever you want to go."

Nora suppressed a sudden pressure of tears. "Of course you want to see your son. But... wouldn't you rather stay with him on your farm once you go back?"

MacCready gave her an odd look. "There is no farm. Not anymore. You think you can leave a place alone in the Capital Wasteland and not have it get overrun by-- by raiders, or slavers, or super mutants? Not a chance."

"I thought... Then where did you leave him, if not at your farm?"

Mac coughed and looked down at his shoes. "The only place I could trust. Little Lamplight."

"Oh," Nora said quietly. "That's where you grew up, isn't it?"

"Yep. Same place." He sighed, removing his hat and turning it in his hands. "You have to understand, Nora, I didn't have anyone else. Lucy was from Little Lamplight, too, a year younger than me. We, uh, reconnected once she became a mungo. We didn't know anyone. The Wasteland isn't exactly friendly. So once she was gone, and I knew I needed to leave, Little Lamplight was the only place I could think of that would take Duncan in. I'm not proud of it, but that's how it is."

"You did what you had to do," Nora said. "Duncan's lucky to have you, Mac. I'd be happy to come with you to get him."  _And you're clearly a more loyal parent than I am, anyway_ , she added silently.

"Thank you, Nora. Really. I mean it." Mac's eyes traveled to the nightstand, where, among other objects, his wooden soldier sat. He cleared his throat and stood up. "All right, then. So... It's about two week's walking to get there if you're a fan of eating and sleeping, usually longer to avoid the really dangerous areas."

Nora smiled. "Sounds good. See you tomorrow morning."

Once Mac was gone, Nora unzipped the side pocket of her duffle bag and secured the soldier toy inside, as well as a rattle that used to be Shaun's. She then curled up in her and Nate's bed for the last time.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: Mention of needles (medical usage)

Nora, Nick, and MacCready holed up in an old grocery store on the outskirts of the ruins of Washington, D.C. A radiation storm not forced them to move inside earlier than they would have normally, but Nora was secretly relieved. Her feet ached, and never had she missed her car so badly.

“We could have been here in just one day in a car,” she told them, stripping off her shoes. “Can you believe that? One day. We could have turned the radio on, felt the breeze in our hair. Really made a day out of it… Oh, disgusting.” A blister had formed on her left ankle, and her right heel had bled into her sock. Her chin ached after she had tripped and smashed her face on the road outrunning a feral dog a few hours prior. “Guys, I think I might be broken.”

“What’s broken is this damn window.” MacCready had smashed the storefront window with the butt of his gun so they could get in, and now struggled to tape it up to avoid nighttime visitors.

“Language, partner?” Nick queried, pulling over a metal shelf as a barricade.

Mac sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Sometimes I can’t help it. Here, I’ll give you a hand with that.”

After securing the building, they started a fire with a handful of old newspapers and pre-war books. Fires were risky because they tended to attract attention, but the three of them indulged whenever they managed to find refuge indoors, breaking out a few spare cans of Cram set aside for the occasion.

“You know, I was a vegetarian before all this,” Nora said, turning a skewered piece of Cram over the flames.

“What is that?” MacCready asked seriously. He leaned forward to hold his skewer over the fire, and Nora's stomach lurched when she was able to clearly see his face for the first time after the dog debacle that evening. The left side of his cheek was purple with bruises.

“It means you don’t eat meat,” Nick said when Nora didn't respond. He reached into the fire to set another book down, flames lapping at his fleshless fingers.

“Right..." Nora said. She cleared her throat and looked away from Mac's face. "Nowadays, meat's about the only thing I eat. Not much vegetation around here, is there?”

Mac glanced toward the windows and his expression darkened. “Not much of anything around here, unless you’re looking for stuff that wants to kill you.” He began to cough violently and set down his skewer. “I hate to admit it, but I feel terrible.” He lay back on the dirty tiled floor and slung an arm over his face.

“How did you make it to the Commonwealth alone last time?” Nora asked. “I can’t believe you didn’t die." Her face heated. "I mean... I didn't mean it to sound like that.”

Mac managed a muffled laugh and lifted his arm. “Thanks. But I wasn’t alone. I was involved with the Gunners, remember? There was a big group of them heading east, so I went along. It’s a lot easier to survive when there are fifteen people instead of three. Or one.”

Nick looked up from his mechanical hand, which he was tightening with a screwdriver. “I don’t know how much of a hurry we’re in, but I’m thinking we should rest here for a few days. I ain’t flesh and blood, but I could use some repairs. And no offense, but you two don't look too hot, either.”

MacCready’s head lolled to the side so he could look at Nick. “But we’re so close now.”

Nora chewed on a grisly piece of Cram with a grimace, then swallowed. “I think it’s a good idea. We need to be strong to get through D.C. And the past few days have been hell. Besides, Duncan isn’t in a hurry, Mac. You said so yourself.”

MacCready coughed again and looked up at the dusty ceiling. He said something so quietly that Nora couldn’t make it out.

“What?”

“I said, I never should have brought you two here.”

Nora raised her eyebrows. “What are you talking about? I’m the one who wanted to leave the Commonwealth.”

“But not here,” MacCready insisted. “You should have gone somewhere safer, not _more_ dangerous. I should have come here alone.”

“And died, in all probability,” Nick said casually, setting the screwdriver down and flexing his fingers.

Mac just grunted in response.

“We chose to be here, okay?” Nora rummaged in her bag for a couple of stimpaks, and threw one to Mac. He didn't reach up to catch it, and it skittered by his head. “Take it and then we’ll get some sleep. We can see how we feel tomorrow.”

Nora slid the needle of the other stimpak into her forearm’s tender skin, hissing at the puncture, but the pain soon dissipated and she felt a rush of blood in her extremities. Stimpaks didn’t instantly heal wounds, but they sped up the process. With luck, her torn and blistered feet would be smooth by the morning.

MacCready stood unsteadily and began unrolling their sleeping bags a few feet away from the fire. Nora desperately wanted to bathe before bed, but it looked like that wasn’t happening for yet another day, so instead she ducked behind a shelf and stripped to her underwear and bra. At least she wouldn’t have to sleep in the grime, and, although she wasn’t exactly proud of it, her tolerance to body odor had increased greatly over the past year.

When she returned, Nick was sitting on a backless chair, tending the fire, and MacCready had already removed his own outer clothes and slid into his sleeping bag.

“You’ll be okay tonight, Nick?” Nora asked. “We can take turns staying up if you need us to.”

“Nonsense,” Nick said. “You get some sleep and I’ll hold down the fort.”

Nora nodded and wrapped herself in her sleeping bag. A full stomach and the effects of the stimpak sent her quickly into a dreamless sleep.

 

“I’LL WEAR YOUR BONES AROUND MY NECK.”

Nora shot up, eyes darting around the room before they met Nick’s yellow ones in the darkness. The fire was out and the odor of smoke hung thickly in the air.

“What was that?” Nora hissed, even though she could never mistake the gravelly, strained tone of the voice. She slid her Pip-Boy onto her wrist and activated its flashlight. MacCready emitted a yelp and reached for his gun.

“Super mutants,” Nick whispered back. Nora felt him crouch on the floor next to her, and he spoke in a low, even tone: “I think they smell us, or the fire. But if we’re quiet, they should lose interest. Turn off that light.”

Nora clicked it off and shuddered.

“I SMELL HUMANS.” The voice was louder this time, closer.

Nora grasped for someone in the dark and landed on Nick’s knee. Nick draped an arm over her shoulder, pressing her to him, and Nora tried to control her shaking breaths. Mac shuffled closer, too, his body snug at Nora’s side. He pressed something metallic and cold into Nora’s hands: her laser pistol.

“Thank you,” she whispered, wrapping her hands around the weapon.

Suddenly MacCready’s voice was at her ear, his breath hot. “We’ve faced these guys before, so if they find us, just remember to aim at their heads. Okay, Nora?”

“Only from a distance,” Nora protested. “With sniper rifles. Never up close.”

The walls shook; something was pounding on the door. The boards nailed over it began to creak and bend. Nora had to clutch a hand over her mouth to muffle her scream.

“Quiet,” Nick hissed. “I have an idea. Stand up.”

Nora stood and shivered. She was only in her underwear still, and the store was freezing without the fire.

“Now.” Nick’s voice was barely a breath. “We’re going to walk _very quietly_ to the back of the store, to the bathrooms.”

Nora clutched one of Nick’s arms. The synth's eyes illuminated the path in front of them, and the three eased their way across the floor, stepping over tin cans and glass jars and other loud bits of debris.

The only bathroom that still had a door was the women’s, so they crowded into the small space and shut the door behind them.

“You can turn the flashlight back on, doll.”

Nora did, and glanced around at her green-tinged surroundings. The bathroom was dingy and the stalls were missing, but the remaining toilets and sinks had held up better than a lot she’d seen in this time. Nick fiddled with the doorknob until it clicked.

“It’s locked, but we still need to keep quiet.”

MacCready sat on the toilet that still had the seat attached and clutched his gun to his chest, breathing raggedly. He looked sickly thin without his heavy duster.

“I am  _not_ dying here,” Mac said in a low voice. “Not when we’re finally so close to Little Lamplight. Just, uh, wanted to make that clear to you two.” He erupted into a coughing fit.

Nora sat on the other, unfortunately seat-less toilet. The porcelain was frigid on her thighs. “You’re going to see Duncan again,” she finally said, then frowned at him. “Why are you coughing?”

Mac caught his breath, and his expression was hard to read in the Pip-Boy’s dim glow. “Because I have a cold."

“I mean, didn’t you take that stimpak I gave you?”

“Those don’t work on _viruses_.”

“Shh!” Nick hissed. “Do you want to get out of here or not?”

A sound like an explosion ripped through the store, and the building shook so hard that Nora slid off her seat. The super mutant was inside. Nora leapt to her feet and backed herself into the wall, laser pistol pointed at the bathroom door with shaking hands.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm tweaking the ending of Fallout 3 a bit, especially in regard to Broken Steel. Be warned. ;)

MacCready and Nick flanked Nora on either side, guns pointed at the bathroom door.

"Remember, headshot," Mac whispered hoarsely.

"How many do you think there are?" Nora asked. She felt MacCready shrug beside her and clenched her laser pistol tighter.

The super mutant thudded through the building and the ground shook with each step.

"Sounds like just one," Nick said after a few moments of listening to the bangs and crashes outside.

"Even if it leaves, all our stuff is out there," Nora murmured. "All our food, all our water. Our  _clothes_."

Nick's cool hand patted Nora gently on the back before returning to his pipe pistol. "We'll figure it out, doll." His yellow eyes turned to Nora again and he quietly slid off his trenchcoat, draping it around Nora's shoulders.

"Thanks, Nick." Nora shuddered into the heavy fabric and shrugged the sleeves over her arms.

The three went quiet, guns raised, as the super mutant continued prowling, but it was clear its interest was waning. The sound of colliding objects had ceased, and the creature's threats had reduced to incoherent growls and mumblings. Nora's grip began to relax, and she found herself leaning into the wall.

Then Mac began coughing again. After the first cough, he whipped his hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The footsteps of the super mutant grew closer.

"I HEAR YOU," it shouted.

Nora met Mac's eyes, which were wide and watery.

"I'm so sorry," he choked out before the super mutant began slamming its weight into the bathroom door. "Nora, I am so sorry."

Nora opened her mouth to respond, but at that moment a green fist punched through the top of the door and she shrieked.

"I'M GOING TO EAT YOU WHEN YOU'RE DEAD, HUMAN."

Nora took a shot at the super mutant's exposed hand, and a shower of blood spurted from the creature's skin. It withdrew its hand and roared before pounding on the door with renewed vigor. The door was cracking and splintering. 

"Why did this fucking store have to use wooden doors!" Nora squealed as Nick fired off several rounds into the hole the mutant had made.

"Headshot," Mac repeated, his weapon still in his steady hands. "Headshot, okay? As soon as you see it."

A gun fired with a crack and an unmistakable whirring sound. Nora froze. A laser rifle? She was the only one with an energy weapon, and she hadn't pulled the trigger.

She glanced at Mac and Nick. "What was--"

The super mutant suddenly stopped its assault on the door and, with a mighty  _thunk_ , crashed to the floor outside.

For a moment, all Nora could do was inhale shakily, her fingers clenched painfully around her gun. When the silence dragged on, she lowered her weapon and glanced at Nick and Mac in disbelief. The men's faces mirrored her own expression.

Nick eased up to the hole in the door and stood on his toes to peer outside. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone there?"

"What if it's raiders or something?" Nora hissed. "Do you want to end up like the super mutant?"

"Whoever it was saved our asses," Nick said. He turned back to the door. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Hello?" A woman's throaty voice. "Are you okay?"

A dog yipped playfully from outside, and Nora's entire body relaxed despite her better judgment. She couldn't help it; the bark sounded like Dogmeat's.

"We're okay, thanks to you," Nick said.

"You can come out, you know," the woman called. "There aren't any more of them out here." A pause. "I'm not going to hurt you. Promise."

Nick looked at the others and shrugged.

"Go ahead," MacCready said with a wave. "What else are we gonna do, stay here forever?"

Nick opened the door, bits of wood falling onto his hat, and walked out into the store. Nora and Mac followed closely behind him, stepping over the body of the super mutant. The hole in his head bubbled slightly. Nora refused to lower her weapon, not yet.

Nora's Pip-Boy shone on a tall, dark-skinned woman about Nora's age standing at the end of the bathroom hallway. The woman brandished a laser rifle and wore a rather dusty set of combat armor. Her dog, a German Shepard barely older than a puppy, bounced at the woman's feet.

"I wasn't expecting three of you," she said. "Glad to see you're all right. Lucky for you, that was a little guy."

"A  _little_ guy?" Nora echoed.

The woman smiled, and then gasped. "Oh, look, sweetheart, we match," she exclaimed, lifting her arm. Nora stared blankly for a moment before realizing the woman wore a Pip-Boy, too.

"You're from a vault?" Nora asked. "I--I haven't met many others from a vault."

"Not everyone with a Pip-Boy's from a vault, but yeah, I am. There are a few of us wandering around." The woman activated her own flashlight for an additional glow. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Jess." She extended her hand to Nora, who for a moment forgot what to do. Then, Nora's faculties returned and she reached out and clasped the rough hand in her own, bobbing it slightly.

"Uh, Nora. And this is Nick and Mac. What were you doing around here?"

Jess shrugged and reached out to shake MacCready's hand. "Looking for shelter for the night. Same as you, I'm sure."

MacCready's eyes had not left Jess's face. He tilted his head and said, "Do I know you?"

Jess dropped her proffered hand and stared at him thoughtfully. "I don't think I know _you_ , but a lot of people know _me_ , if you get what I'm saying."

Mac frowned. "I don't. But, really, I think we've..." His jaw dropped. "No. You're the mungo!"

"The what?"

"It was definitely you. You were the mungo who came into Little Lamplight. I remember you," MacCready insisted. "I mean, it was like ten years ago, but I remember. We never got a lot of mungo visitors."

Jess laughed. "Oh yeah, mungos. Little Lamplight. Don't tell me you were one of those kids?"

"I was the mayor," Mac said, puffing out his chest.

"No way. I do remember you! You were the little brat with a potty mouth." Jess chuckled.

"I... well..." Mac stammered, deflating.

"Our stuff!" Nora suddenly remembered. "Do you think anything's left?" She pushed past Jess. Their sleeping bags and fire were buried under piles of rubble and dust. Nora rummaged through the detritus, finally finding the strap of her duffle bag under a piece of shelving. She pulled it up and almost cried in relief. The bag was still zipped and intact, for the most part.

"Thank goodness for that," Nick said, standing over her.

MacCready fished around until he found his hat and coat. He brushed off the dirt and dust and put them on. "That's better."

"Do you guys need any more help?" Jess offered. Her dog nudged at her hand and Jess reached down to stroke its ears. "A guide? I'm pretty familiar with the area and I wouldn't mind the extra work."

Nora bit her lip. "We're heading to Little Lamplight, but we don't have a lot of caps to offer, so... I think we'll be all right. Thank you, though."

Jess watched the three of them sift through the rubble. "I'm not really all that interested in caps," she said after a few minutes. "I'm headed that way anyway, and I could use the company."

Mac stood up and eyed Jess warily. "You want to follow us around for _free_?"

Jess waved her hands in front of her. "Don't take it the wrong way, really. I'm not going to rob you or something. It just gets lonely out here."

"So why not go find a town to live in?" Mac questioned. "Megaton? Rivet City? Literally anywhere but here?"

Jess averted her eyes. "I never said I _couldn't_ do that. I have a house in Megaton."

"So what are you doing out in this deathtrap?"

Nora frowned. "Mac, stop interrogating her."

"I'm out here saving guys like you." Jess smiled, although it looked forced. "You certainly _are_ the same kid from Little Lamplight. So, will you take my help or leave it?"

"We'd be happy to have you and your dog along," Nora assured her before Mac could talk.

"Fine with me," Nick said.

Jess's eyes widened as she noticed Nick's appearance for the first time, but the woman didn't remark on it.

"Great," Jess said eventually. "It'll be nice to travel with someone."

MacCready huffed. "I can't wait."


	7. Chapter 7

What might have been a journey of a few hours stretched into days when a series of radiation storms descended upon the Capital Wasteland. Nora's time in the Commonwealth had been kindergarten compared to this. Rad storms in the Commonwealth were dangerous, but uncommon, and they rarely lasted longer than twenty minutes. Here, had it not been for Jess's quick thinking and uncanny understanding of the area, Nora was sure they would all have melted into puddles of irradiated goo.

Jess was in sync with the Capital. She knew all its nooks and crannies, and she had a sixth sense for danger. More than once, Nora had barely raised her laser pistol to her chin in the time it took Jess to dispose of some mutated insect in their path. Jess usually sensed a rad storm approaching before the first drops had fallen. Nora and Nick were quick to thank Jess, but perhaps the highest praise was MacCready's cessation of complaints against their new companion. This was especially meaningful because Mac was still sick with a cold and irritable.

During a rare break in the clouds on their third day together, Jess ushered them from their hiding place in a ruined school to a city called Megaton. It was a quick walk, but the clouds loomed over them, viridescent and heavy.

"I might have mentioned I've got a house here," Jess said, nodding at the security guard at the tall, metal gates. "The city may look abandoned now, but when the weather is clear, it's a pretty busy place. Have you ever been here, Mac?"

"Uh, once," MacCready said as they walked down a creaking platform. "But all I remember is the inside of a bar."

Jess pulled a face. "Moriarty's, I'll bet."

"Don't remember the name."

Nora looked up at Jess. "I just want to thank you again," she said. "For, you know, saving our asses. If you're tired of us, we can make it on our own after this." She froze when they came to the end of the walkway. "Is that a bomb?"

"Nora!" Jess laughed and clapped her hands together. "That's amazing."

Nora gaped at the object half-submerged in a pool of water. "Amazing? It's a _bomb_." Half of her wanted to turn and run the way they had come, but Jess's easy smile kept her from moving.

"Amazing because that's the exact same reaction I had when I first saw it," Jess said. "Don't worry, though, it's disarmed." She flashed a grin. "Though it wasn't until I came around."

Nick chuckled, clapping a hand on the back of his neck. "Will your talents ever cease, woman?"

Jess glanced up at the sky. "They will if we don't get inside soon. Come on, everyone, this way."

Jess led them to a ramshackle house that reminded Nora of Sanctuary. While Jess fumbled with her keys, Nora watched an elderly woman shuffle past. It was the first human being they had seen in Megaton other than the guard. Nora lifted her hand to offer a friendly wave. She stopped when the woman scowled and jabbed a finger in Jess's direction.

"Fuck you," the woman said.

Jess dropped her keys. Her face twitched, but she didn't turn around to look at the woman.

MacCready crossed his arms. "Hey, lady, what's your problem? We're not bothering you."

"My son died last week," the woman continued. She sniffled wetly. "Radiation poisoning, they said. From the water. You tell me whose fault that is, and then you explain why you think you have the right to keep on showing your face in this town."

The woman looked up at the clouds and frowned, then lifted her middle finger in a salute before walking away.

Nora exchanged an open-mouthed glance with MacCready. Jess continued to stare at the door to her home. She reached down for her keys.

"Are you all right, doll?" Nick asked Jess.

"I'm fine." Jess finally managed to unlock the door and wordlessly ushered them inside.

A Mr. Handy whirred toward them through the sparsely-decorated living room. "Good evening, madame. What can I do for you?"

Jess cleared her throat. "Wadsworth, these are my friends. They're spending the night here. Make sure they're comfortable." She turned to the others. "I only have a couch, sorry. No spare beds. But what I do have is a bathroom and a tub." She brightened slightly. "One of the only houses in Megaton that does. Updated just last year. The water's cold and, uh..." Jess paused and her forehead crinkled. "It's, uh, not purified, but not too dirty. Better than nothing, especially after all the travelling. Just maybe shoot a Rad-X before you get in."

Nora almost swooned at the thought of a bath. "That sounds amazing. Thank you, Jess."

Jess nodded. "I know it's early, but I think I'm going to clean up and get some sleep. Does anyone need in the bathroom before I use it?"

The others shook their heads, and Jess offered them a thin smile before she turned away and walked upstairs, her dog following her. 

MacCready flopped onto the couch and sniffed. "So what was all that about, you think?" he asked once Jess had shut the bathroom door behind her. Mac's nose was still rather red and his voice was hoarse, but the color had finally returned to his cheeks and the awful cough had subsided.

Nick sat down next to him. "I don't know, but it's none of our business."

"Don't you think we should know about the person we're travelling with?"

"You say as if _you_ don't have a past," Nora pointed out, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms.

"At least I was open about mine."

"Jess has been nice to us," Nora said. "She's letting us stay in her home. Whatever that woman said outside, I don't think Jess is a bad person."

"I never said she was."

 

Nick never bathed for fear of rust and MacCready didn't seem in any hurry, so Nora took her turn after Jess had retired to her bedroom. The bathroom was dingy, but clean. Jess had left them soap and couple of spare t-shirts and shorts folded neatly by the sink.

As Jess had warned, the bath water was like ice. Nora hissed when she submerged herself, feeling her toes go numb. The dirt floated off her in brown waves. Nora soaped up and scoured her body, then traded places with her clothes and scrubbed them down. After an hour, Nora was shivering but finally clean. She left her vault suit on the towel rack to dry and pulled on a set of clean clothes.

When she returned downstairs, Nick was busy making repairs on his body, and MacCready was dozing upright on the couch.

Nora gently shook Mac's shoulder. "Hey. Your turn."

MacCready's eyes flickered open. "Uh, that's okay."

"'That's okay'?" Nora echoed. "I know you're tired, but you have to get clean. Come on, wake up."

"Mmm... I don't really like baths," Mac said, closing his eyes again.

"Excuse me? You prefer to walk around wearing a layer of dirt?"

Mac's eyes snapped open and he frowned. "Why does it matter, Nora?"

"Because you're probably seeing your son tomorrow and you'll want to look nice," Nora said, pulling off his hat and holding it above him. "Take a bath or I'll keep your hat."

Mac rolled his eyes. "I'm not really in the mood for this."

"Then go take a bath."

Mac stood up so quickly that Nora didn't have time to move. He snatched his hat from her hands and placed it snugly on his head, then stared down at Nora. They stood barely an inch apart. "You may not have noticed this, but I don't like water."

Nora opened her mouth and paused. True, MacCready always complained whenever she made him trudge through the smallest body of water, even a puddle, but she had always assumed it was because of the radiation. "You mean, at all? Don't you bathe in Sanctuary?"

Mac scoffed. "Yeah, but we have showers there. Big difference. I don't like being submerged. Especially my head."

"But... why?"

MacCready sighed in resignation. "I almost drowned one too many times. I know it's stupid, but... give me a break."

"Oh." Nora backed away and noticed Nick watching her. "How about this? You go upstairs and take a bath without putting your head underwater, then I'll come up and wash your hair in the sink."

MacCready raised his eyebrows. "I'm not... I don't need  _help_. I'm not a child. I can do it."

"Mac, please. I feel bad. Let me make it up to you."

Mac stuttered for a moment, then: "Fine, I guess. Okay. But I'll get over it eventually. This isn't like... This isn't a permanent thing. It's not a problem."

MacCready trudged upstairs. Nora met Nick's gaze. "What?"

Nick shrugged. "You want to help me tighten these screws when you're done with him?"

"Hah. You're hilarious."

"I try."

 

Nora had not anticipated how awkward washing your friend's hair could be. She had to lean close to Mac, who sat in a chair propped up backward against the sink. Although they were both clothed, there was something indescribably intimate about the contact.

"I feel really stupid," Mac said, eyes closed, after a few moments of heavy silence in which Nora soaped up his hair and began working it with her fingers.

"Don't talk. You'll get suds in your mouth."

Mac hadn't done a great job of washing his face, either. Nora ran a washcloth delicately across his forehead. She saw Mac tense and his eyes dart around under closed lids, but he made no comment. Nora returned to his hair, which there was a lot of, and brushed aside a lock right at his hairline.

"Mac," she asked slowly. "I know I told you not to talk, but I need to know. Why does your head say 'AB+'?"

Mac's eyes opened and he blinked at the sting of soap. "Oh, shit. Shoot, I mean. Uh, that's from the Gunners. They tattoo your blood type on your head just, you know, in case of emergency. Lucky for me, mine's high up enough that people can't see it. Unless they're washing my hair, I guess."

"Oh," Nora said. "Well, I promise not to tell anyone."

MacCready snorted. "Thanks. I don't really care if you do, though. Not too many people around here know the Gunners anyway."

Nora massaged his scalp with her fingers. "So, I bet you're excited to see Duncan tomorrow."

"Thought I wasn't supposed to talk."

"Sorry."

"I am excited to see him, though. If the weather clears up."

"Jess seems to think it will."

"This is going to sound dumb, but I'm kind of nervous, too. I haven't seen him in two years, and he was just a toddler when I left him. What if he doesn't remember me?" Mac cringed at his words. "Oh, man. I'm sorry, Nora. I forgot."

"It's okay." Nora tamped down the lurches her stomach was making at the thought of Shaun. "And don't worry, Duncan will be thrilled to see you again." Nora turned on the faucet and rinsed the soap out of his hair.

Mac screwed his eyes shut against the flow of water. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm making the right choice. Little Lamplight is safe. What if he's safer there than with me?"

"You've forgotten that you have Nick and me to help out." Nora reached for a towel and dropped it in Mac's lap. "Okay. All done."

Mac straightened, hair dripping into his shirt. "Really?"

"Yeah. Was that so bad?"

Mac scrubbed at his hair with the towel. "Guess not," he said, muffled.

Nora clapped him on the arm in what was supposed to be a friendly manner, but Mac looked up at her with a strange expression. Nora cleared her throat and quickly moved away.

"Uh, anyway. I'll be downstairs. Watch out, Nick left a bunch of screws and junk all over the place."

"Hey, Nora?"

Nora turned.

"Just wanted to say thanks, that's all."


	8. Chapter 8

Nick Valentine was a synth. He did not sleep.

Gen 3 synths could sleep, although they didn't need to. Nick could not. This was an excellent quality to have in a detective, and an excellent quality to have in a travelling companion, but not being able to sleep was lonely. Nick remembered sleep, remembered dreams and the intimacy of sharing his bed with his fiancee. Even if he reached that level of closeness with another person now (unlikely), he would never be able to regain that feeling of shared sleep.

A few weeks prior, during what would eventually be known in Nick's head as "The Case of the Misguided Assistant," Ellie Perkins had tried to kiss him. It was the last time Nick set foot in his office. It wasn't Ellie's fault, not really. Nick hadn't done much to discourage her affections because Ellie was a hell of an assistant and he hadn't wanted to stir the pot, but he never thought anything would actually happen. It wasn't that he lacked affection for Ellie, or that he found her unattractive. But Nick had taken one look into Ellie's warm eyes and practical face and the only thing he could think of saying was, "We can't do this."

Ellie's eyes had moistened a bit, but she stayed stoic, only asking, "Well, why not?"

Why not?  _Because it would ruin your reputation. Because I'm a synth, and not even a new one. Because I care about you, but I don't love you, not in that way._ "We just can't."

So Nick left the building, left Diamond City, and, eventually, left the Commonwealth. Not just because of Ellie. If he was honest, it was a long time coming.

 

Nick watched Nora and MacCready sleep. Nora was sprawled on the couch, head thrown back and snoring softly. MacCready was curled up against the side of the couch, sleeping bag pulled to his ears. Nick knew it was, well, creepy to watch people sleep, but it wasn't like  _that_. He just missed it.

"Morning, friend. Or, what is it you always say? 'Morning, partner.'"

Nick blinked. He hadn't realized Jess had come downstairs. "Hello, there. How'd you sleep?"

Jess yawned. She was wearing a tattered gray robe and slippers. "Just great." She nodded toward Nora and MacCready. "Looking after them?"

Nick stood up quickly. "Oh, I'm just... Keeping watch. I realize now how this might look."

Jess laughed. "No, you're fine. I get it. Do you want breakfast? Do you eat? I know I should have noticed by now, but call me unobservant."

"I don't need to eat," Nick said.

"I didn't ask if you need to. I asked if you do."

"I'm kind of a prototype. I can't do a lot of the things Gen 3 synths can."

Jess cocked her head to the side. "I didn't understand a whole lot of what you just said, but I'll take that as a 'no.'"

"Gen 3 synths are like humans," Nick explained. "They can eat. I can't. I'm not quite as sophisticated."

"Isn't that a shame," Jess said. "Or is it? Not eating might be useful sometimes." She tapped her finger against her chin. "I think I met a Gen 3 synth once."

"Really? Here, in D.C.?"

Jess nodded. "It was a long time ago. He could have just been something similar. Anyway,  _I'm_ going to have some breakfast, and you're welcome to sit with me, even if you don't eat."

Jess led Nick to the table in the cramped kitchen and rummaged through the refrigerator. "I ought to clean this out. It's not good to leave food open when you're gone for weeks at a time." She decided on some snack cakes and had polished one off when she said, "I also owe you an explanation."

"You don't owe me anything, doll," Nick said, but the gears in his mind were whirring with case titles: _The Case of the Mysterious Wanderer. The Megaton Mystery. Wasteland Woes._ He rather liked the last one.

"I do, though," Jess said around a mouthful of snack cake. "You deserve to know why people treat me like shit around here."

"That was one woman."

"One of many, believe me. So, listen." Jess chewed and swallowed. "About ten years ago, I was involved in this... this thing. It was my father's project, and the goal was to provide clean water to everyone in the Capital Wasteland. 'Project Purity' is what he called it.

"That sounds like a noble goal," Nick said.

Jess laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, it was. But, well... I messed up. I really messed up."

"What happened?"

"I was supposed to activate the machine. I was scared. It meant risking my own life, or risking my friend's life. No, not 'risk.' Sacrifice. It was a death sentence, is what I'm saying. We didn't know what to do, and we hesitated. _I_ hesitated. And before we knew it, the whole damn thing exploded." Jess looked away, and her voice hitched. "Killed my friend. Nearly killed me. The whole thing was destroyed. No more Project Purity. No clean water. Once people heard about it... Well, you can see why they'd hate me."

"You don't owe anyone your life," Nick murmured. "I mean, how old were you when this happened?"

"Twenty. Old enough to do better." Jess set the rest of her cake down. "Anyway, that's why it's kind of my job to help people, now. I'm trying to make up for it. I told myself I'd never accept another cap in exchange for helping someone." She shook her head. "I don't like to buy myself things. You know that bathroom I have? That was Wadsworth's doing, not mine. He and Gob thought I deserved something nice, which I don't, and they helped get it set up while I was gone. Still feel guilty about it."

Nick took one of Jess's hand in his own (the fleshier one, so as not to scare her) and said, "I've met a lot of scum in my line of work. You're definitely not one of them. And you're welcome to travel with us as long as you like."

"Thanks, Nick. Where are you headed after Little Lamplight, if I might ask?"

"I'm not quite sure. Nora's mostly in charge of this operation, but I don't think she knows, either. Somewhere safe, if a place like that actually exists."

"My advice?" Jess replied. "Get out of D.C. Join up with a caravan. It's a lot safer to travel in numbers, especially if you'll have a kid with you. You can't always pick where the caravan is going, but if you're not picky then it shouldn't be a problem anyway."

"I'll pass on that advice," Nick said. "And like I said, you're welcome to join us."

The side of Jess's mouth twitched in a smile. "I'll think about it."

"You already sound like you've made up your mind."

"Well, the Capital is my home, even if most people hate me. It would be hard to leave," Jess said. "But I mean it. I will think it over. For now, though, we'll just focus on getting you to Little Lamplight safely."


	9. Chapter 9

As Jess had predicted, the skies were clear that morning.

When Jess told MacCready that they would finally be able to travel to Little Lamplight, he grinned at Nora with such unmasked emotion that Nora almost pounced on him in a hug. Almost. While Hancock had no problem draping himself over Nora at any opportunity, and Nick was always available with a pat on the back or a friendly embrace, MacCready never touched Nora except when it was strictly necessary. Nora felt guilty for last night, when she'd insisted on washing his hair. Not everyone was touchy-feely, and she had to respect that, even if that person really, really needed a bath. Still, Mac _had_ thanked her, and Nora couldn't help but check how his hair was looking this morning. Not bad.

After a quick breakfast and a goodbye to Wadsworth, the four of them plus Jess's dog were out the door. The people of Megaton were at last out of their homes. They were mostly a grungy-looking group, but it wasn't this that set Nora on edge. What disturbed her most was that, rather than acknowledge Jess's presence with a smile or a wave, most of them scowled in her direction. Jess lowered her head slightly, and Nora, suddenly desperate to distract her, blurted:

"I've decided that I'll have to steal your dog."

Jess glanced at Nora, eyebrows raised. "Excuse me?"

Nora bent down to pat the dog, whom they just called Dog. "She reminds me of my dog, so I think I'll have to steal her from you."

This brought forth a smile. "Not a chance," Jess said, scooping Dog into her arms and tilting her head to avoid the puppy's slobbering tongue.

They crossed the gates of Megaton, nodding at the guards on either side, and headed west. In traditional Capital Wasteland fashion, everything outside was tinged a dusty brown, but the sun was shining and a gentle breeze rolled along the patchy grass.

"Why didn't you bring your dog with you?" Jess asked. She leaned over and let Dog jump to the ground.

"He's happy where he is," Nora said. "Plus, there's this guy who lives in Sanctuary named Jun, and he's kind of a mess right now. He lost his son... But he's really attached to my dog, and he's a lot better when they're together. I guess it just seemed cruel to separate them."

"Wow," Jess said, nodding in approval. "That's a really classy thing to do, Nora. I wouldn't be able to leave my puppy."

Mac snorted. "Nora's got a nasty habit of caring about other people, even when it's not to her advantage."

"Not when it actually matters, as Preston would say." Nora attempted this as a joke, but it fell flat even to her own ears.

MacCready eyed her questioningly. "For the love of God, Nora, stop thinking about Preston. Every time you do it just makes you feel guilty."

"Preston is a good guy, Mac."

"Yeah, that's the problem," Mac said, hitching his bag higher on his shoulder. "You need to stop listening to the good guys and start listening to ass-- to jerks. Like me. You'll be a lot happier, believe me."

Nora managed a smile. "I'll try. Hey, I'm looking forward to meeting Duncan."

The worried crease between Mac's eyes disappeared. "I just can't believe we're really going. It feels like, I don't know, like a dream or something. I can't wait for him to meet you. He'll love you."

"You think?"

"Sure," Mac said. "What's not to, uh... What's not to like? Also, does anyone have a cigarette?"

"Sorry, partner, I ran out yesterday," Nick said. "You should have bought some while we were in town."

"Never mind. I don't want one." Mac shook his head. "I'm just... getting nervous."

"He's your son, not a blind date." Nick chuckled.

"Anyway," Mac said, "we'll have to be careful when we get there. Little Lamplight isn't exactly known for being friendly to adults."

"No kidding," Jess said. "First time I was there, I got into an insult war with the mayor at the front gates."

"Who won?" Nick asked.

"The memory is a bit fuzzy." Jess tapped her chin. "But I'm thinking _I_ did, since the mayor bestowed upon me the honor of being the only mungo allowed into Little Lamplight."

"Sounds like a pretty cool mayor," Mac said.

"Not really. Kind of an asshole. Still is, actually." Jess winked. Mac rolled his eyes, but a smile played at the corners of his lips.

They walked for a few minutes in a companionable silence, enjoying the rare bit of sunny Wasteland weather. A radroach scuttled across their path and Jess killed it with a well-aimed shot from her laser rifle. Soon after, they reached a pile of boulders, and Jess pointed at it with her gun.

"This is where I'm from," she said.

Nora crouched down and peered at the boulders. "There's a vault in there?"

"Yeah. Hard to see, but it's there."

"Do you want to stop by for a visit?" Nora suggested. "I mean, if Mac is okay with that."

MacCready looked affronted, but unexpectedly had the grace to stay silent. Jess, however, shook her head.

"I'm not allowed in there," she said. A shininess in her eyes belied her light tone. "The overseer won't let me."

"What happened?" asked Nick, placing a hand on Jess's back.

Jess shrugged. "Well, she was my friend. More than a friend, actually, although we never told anyone. But she seems to think that I'll upset people if I go back, so... I just haven't gone back. I figure if she changes her mind, she can come find me."

They lapsed into silence. Dog bounced around them curiously as if to ask why they had stopped walking.

"I remember, you know," Mac said suddenly. "What you did for us, Jess."

Jess squinted at him. "Huh?"

"You're the one who saved my friends from those slavers," Mac explained. "I've been thinking about it for days. I wasn't sure at first, but it had to have been you. Who else would have done that?"

"Oh," Jess said, scratching the back of her neck. "Yeah."

"So it was you?"

"Yes, but it wasn't a big deal," Jess said. Her eyes widened. "No, I mean, of course it was a big deal. Sorry. What I'm trying to say is that it was the right thing to do, so I did it. That's all." She looked sideways at MacCready. "Do you... do you know how they're doing now? Your friends?"

Mac adjusted his hat to block the sunlight from his eyes. "No. I lost touch with pretty much everyone. If they're still, uh, _around_ , my guess would be they're living in Big Town. It's where the Little Lamplight kids normally go after they age out."

"Did you go there?"

"For about ten minutes," Mac said. "Didn't take long to figure out I wasn't supposed to be there. Everyone had this attitude that now they were out of Lamplight, their lives had ended. They were just _waiting_ there, not doing anything. And I didn't want that. I don't want that for Duncan, either." He paused. "But I'm getting off track. What I wanted to say was that you've saved a lot of lives, Jess, and if the vault doesn't want you back, then they're motherfu-- I mean, then they're missing out." He shrugged. "Just the way I see it."

Jess blinked rapidly and cleared her throat. They stood in front of the boulders for a moment before she said, "All right, let's keep going. We don't want to waste daylight."

 

The road was mostly clear for them except for the occasional insect or mole rat. Although Nora was thankful the storms had passed, the heat was becoming more and more brutal as the day wore on. She was sweating by the time they reached Jury Street Metro Station, and was soon wishing for another bath.

"Careful," Jess whispered as they neared a gray concrete building. "I've seen raiders here before."

Despite Jess's warning, the area was quiet, and they soon discovered why. Scattered across the ground on the other side of the building were the bodies of at least a dozen raiders, as well as the corpse of the largest super mutant Nora had ever seen.

"Fuck," she breathed. "What is that thing?"

"Behemoth," MacCready said, eyes huge. "I've heard about them, but I've never seen one before." He whistled. "Glad it's a dead one."

Nora peeled her eyes away from the super mutant. "Why don't we see if the raiders have any ammo or water on them?"

"Ugh, don't make me touch them," MacCready said, but he was already bending down to root through a raider's pockets. "Cigarettes! Nice. Want one, Nick?"

Nora groaned. "Do you want to stink like smoke when we see your son?"

This earned a riotous laugh from Mac as he flipped open his lighter. "Are you joking? I started smoking in Little Lamplight when I was  _eleven_. It's practically tradition."

"Oh. Nice. I guess no one cares about lung cancer when everything gives you cancer."

Nick looked up from the cigarette he'd taken from MacCready. "I don't have human lungs."

Jess smiled guiltily. "I'll take one, if you don't mind."

 

Two breaks to shovel down food and one break to deal with a band of raiders delayed their arrival at Little Lamplight to the evening. Nora would have missed the entrance to the caverns if MacCready had not pointed out the wooden door nestled into a rocky hillside. Once Nora saw it, she couldn't believe she hadn't noticed it. A few flickering strings of Christmas lights had been tacked up around the door and were sparkling gently in the sunset. Nora glanced down and saw a a set of tiny shoe prints in the dirt.

MacCready, normally an expert at staying calm and stock-still, had gradually become more twitchy and sweaty as their journey progressed. At the entrance to the caverns, he froze.

"He's not going to remember me," Mac said, grasping the door handle without pulling it. "He won't. This is a stupid idea."

Nora forgot her resolution not to touch Mac and rested a hand on the small of his back.

"Hey, Mac. It's going to be fine."

To Nora's surprise, MacCready melted into her touch, and then his arms were around her middle and he was squeezing her. Nora looked up at Nick and Jess helplessly. They shrugged.

"Uh, Mac, listen," Nora said, muffled by his chest. "We're going to go in there and it's going to be great."

"I've been gone too long," he muttered into her hair. He smelled like cigarette smoke and metal.

"MacCready," Nick snapped. Nora felt Mac start. He released Nora and turned.

"Cut the crap and open the door," Nick said. "We didn't come all this way for you to have a breakdown." His yellow eyes glowed like beacons. For the first time, Nora could really envision the cop the original Nick Valentine had been.

MacCready cleared his throat and nodded curtly. "Yeah. Sorry."

Mac straightened his shoulders and pulled open the door. A tunnel dotted with more Christmas lights greeted them. Mac took the lead and waved at the rest of them to follow. After traversing a few bends in the tunnel, and carefully stepping over the body of a radscorpion, they emerged in an enormous cave. A scrap wall topped with barbed wire stretched up to meet the stalactites and lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, blocking them from the rest of the caverns.

"Holy shit. Kids made this?" Nora asked, scanning the wall in disbelief.

"Hell yeah, we did," a tiny voice replied. "Now tell me what you mungos are doing here before I blow your heads off!"

Nora jumped. She hadn't seen the pigtailed child standing in a makeshift guard post on the other side of the wall, only her head visible. The girl couldn't have been older than eight or nine.

"Hi, sweetie," Nora began, but Mac cut her off.

"I'm here for Duncan," he said.

"Yeah, right. Like we'd let you in here."

Mac frowned. "You don't understand, kid. I'm his dad."

"We're not going to hurt you," Jess added.

The girl's eyes darted between them all before resting on Nick. "Oh, shit, is that a robot man?" She turned around. "You guys, there's a robot man here!"

Several children's voices chattered on the other side of the wall.

"So... Can we come in?" Mac asked.

The girl laughed. "No, not even if you have a robot man. We don't know he's not a slaver robot. That could be a thing."

Mac groaned. "Can I just talk to Duncan, please? I don't even need to come inside."

The girl frowned. "There's no one with that name here."

Nora's heart began pounding rapidly. Jess emitted a small gasp and placed a hand over her mouth.

"What?" MacCready took a step backward. He shook his head. "No, that can't be right. Just... can you check?"

"You think the mayor doesn't know the names of her own people? Stupid mungo. You need to-- Huh?"

Another small girl had joined the mayor on the platform. "No, Ding Dong, he's talking about Polka Dots. His dad is always sending him shit. And also..." she lowered her voice conspiratorially, "his dad was the mayor here a long time ago."

"Wait, for real?" The girl who was apparently called Ding Dong eyed MacCready suspiciously. "What did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't. But it's R.J. MacCready."

Mayor Ding Dong's mouth opened wide. "No fucking way! I _have_  heard of you."

"Yeah, no shit. I was the mayor here before you were even born." He looked at the other adults and whispered, "You gotta speak to them on their level."

"I'll send Polka Dots out," Ding Dong said. "Also, we appreciate the caps. It really helps out around here."

The girls disappeared from the platform.

"Always a struggle with them," MacCready said. There was a tremble to his voice. "When I left Duncan here, it took me an hour to convince them he wasn't contagious... He  _wasn't_. Don't give me that look, Nick. I wouldn't have left him here if he was."

With a creak and a groan, the wall lifted up from the ground and they were suddenly exposed to the stares of at least ten children on the other side.

"Dad!" one of the children exclaimed. He was small and dark haired, covered in pock marks and brandishing a tearful grin.

MacCready dropped to his knees on the dirt floor and Duncan ran into his outstretched arms.


	10. Chapter 10

**INTERLUDE**

 

Mari always thought that the pixels on a screen were an interesting thing. From far away, they formed an image. Large. Substantial. Up close, however, they were nothing but random squares of color. Tiny. Inconsequential. 

The courier looked up into the face of Robert House and tried to tell herself that he was just pixels, little inconsequential squares of black and white and green. But he wasn't. Not really. Somewhere there was a Mr. House of flesh and blood, and even more than that, there existed that invisible force that was somehow also Mr. House, the Mr. House that could travel through wires and be in two places at once. Mari didn't quite understand how this second Mr. House worked, but he was real. Substantial.

"Are you listening to me, Miss Lopez?"

Mari stepped back from the screen so that the pixels accumulated into the face of her employer: mustachioed, handsome, intense. "I'm listening."

"Very well. So I expect dealing with these Brotherhood of Steel rumors will be quick work for my capable courier."

"Yeah, about that," Mari began. "I'm not entirely sure what you want me to do. How am I supposed to stop a rumor?"

"How, indeed? I like to think you have enough sense to figure out these things by yourself, but I'll give you a hint. How does one kill a rumor?"

"I..."

"First, you kill the messenger," Mr. House said. "But that's not enough. The idea won't just die with him. You have to make sure you also kill his credibility."

Mari sighed and leaned against the desk underneath the monitor. "I just don't understand why this is so important. Who cares about a rumor? The Brotherhood is gone. Everyone knows they're gone."

Mr. House's face flickered on the screen, as expressionless as ever. "You're smarter than this, Miss Lopez. Image is an essential part of power, as is credibility. If you want to keep things as they are, I insist you do this for me. That was an order, in case I wasn't clear."

Mari nodded. "All right. I'll figure it out."

"I knew you would listen to reason."

The screen darkened. The pixels of Mr. House's image were gone, but his presence hung in the air like electricity before a storm.


	11. Chapter 11

"You mungos can stay here for one night," Ding Dong said reluctantly. "That's it. You all gotta leave when it gets light out."

Ding Dong had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face as she watched MacCready and Duncan embrace. Nora wasn't certain at first why the young girl looked so unhappy until she realized that it was probably rare for parents to reclaim their kids in Little Lamplight.

"Thank you, mayor," Jess said with a sniffle. She wiped a hand over her eyes, then looked at Nora. "Not often you see a happy ending around here."

Nora swallowed thickly. "That's the truth."

MacCready finally rose to his feet. "Glad to see you didn't forget about me, buddy." His voice was husky with emotion and he was blinking back tears rather rapidly. Nora averted her eyes. She had never seen Mac cry before and it made her lungs constrict painfully.

Duncan laughed brightly. "Don't be silly. I talk about you all the time. I knew you'd come back!"

Duncan didn't look much like his father; he was darker-complexioned and had rounder features. Still, there was something of Mac in the way his mouth quirked in a smile when he asked, "Who are your friends, Dad?"

MacCready looked behind him and stared as if he had forgotten the rest of the adults were there.

"I'm Jess," Jess supplied when Mac took too long to respond. She pointed to her dog. "And this is Dog."

"Hi." Duncan's eyes widened when he looked past Jess to take in Nick's features. "Cool! You _do_ have a robot with you!"

Nick chuckled. "Nice to meet you. The name's Nick."

Duncan nodded, mouth slightly agape, before turning to Nora.

"And I'm Nora," she finished. "We've heard a lot about you. It's great to finally meet."

Duncan's eyes flickered back to his father. "Your friends are cool."

Mac laughed at that. "They're all right, most of the time." His eyes met Nora's and he winked.

"All right," Ding Dong interrupted. "This is gross and stupid. I'm closing the gates and anyone who wants to stay here tonight needs to be on this side!"

 

Nora had to share a mattress with Jess that night. When Ding Dong had offered Little Lamplight's hospitality, she had not made it clear that they only had two spare beds jammed into a dark corner of the cavern. Honestly, Nora would have probably preferred sharing a bed with MacCready, or Nick if he slept. Nora liked Jess a whole lot, but they still had not known each other for longer than a week. Jess, however, had graciously volunteered to share with Nora so Mac could have his own mattress, and Nora couldn't very well disagree. It still beat wandering outside at night and becoming Deathclaw food, especially now that they had Duncan.

Duncan had chattered excitedly with MacCready for an hour before tiring himself out and collapsing onto his sleeping bag. Soon after, Ding Dong had ordered the rest of them to bed with the threat that they would "wake up dead if they messed with anything."

Nick sat on the ground by their mattresses, polishing his gun with a rag he had produced from his pocket. Dog was curled up at his feet in a furry ball. "Think I'll sort out our bags while you three sleep," he said, metal teeth clamped around an unlit cigarette. "Take inventory, get rid of anything we don't need."

"Good idea." Nora yawned and scooted to the side of the mattress. "Do you have enough space, Jess?"

"You're a sweetheart, but don't worry about me. I'm an easy sleeper. I could sleep hanging from one of those raider contraptions."

Nora snorted and rolled onto her side, inadvertently making eye contact with Mac, who was lying down on the other mattress. As it turned out, their mattresses were so close together that it was almost like sharing a gigantic bed with Nora in the middle.

Mac cocked an eyebrow at Nora. "So you held up your end of the bargain," he said sleepily. His head was pillowed on his arm.

"What are you talking about?"

"The bargain, remember? You come with me to Little Lamplight, then I'll follow you anywhere else. So... where next?"

"Oh," Nora replied. That bargain. "I don't know. I haven't given it much thought." Her head itched. She hoped that none of these kids had lice. Did lice as she remembered even exist anymore, or were they like radroaches, too gigantic to fit on someone's scalp?

"Go with a caravan," Jess said from beside her. "I was telling Nick this morning. It's the best way to get somewhere without dying."

"Not dying would be ideal," Nora said, scratching her head. "But where are the caravans usually going?"

"What, are you picky?"

"Well, no. I guess not."

"Definitely not," Mac agreed. His eyes were closed now, his voice slightly slurred. "You lead, I'll follow. That's the deal. I don't care where we go."

Jess shifted beside Nora. "The caravans are usually going to nearby places with large populations, like the Commonwealth. There are also lots headed west, especially supply caravans for the NCR. I don't know why they need supplies from all the way up here, but it happens."

"NCR?" asked Nora. Her eyes were beginning to feel heavy.

"You remember." Nick's eyes flashed in her direction. "From Kellogg's memories?"

Nora thought back. "Maybe. There was a lot going on then... Did it have something to do with California?"

"That's right." Nick nodded. "The _New_ California Republic."

"All you need to know is that they control a huge chunk of the west coast," Jess explained, then yawned loudly.

"Where do we find these caravans?"

"Megaton's a good place to start," Jess mumbled. "We'll go back tomorrow."

"All you mungos need to shut the fuck up!" a child's voice called from the other side of the cavern.

This effectively ended the conversation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is short! This is a busy time for me between school and work, but I wanted to make sure I at least got something posted. Thanks to everyone who has left kudos or a comment!


	12. Chapter 12

With the skies clear, the heat of June had at last reached Megaton, though the reception of the settlers was still none too warm. Jess ignored the jeers and glares as she was apparently accustomed to doing. MacCready couldn't resist flashing his middle finger at a few passers-by, holding his other hand over Duncan's eyes.

"Dad, I know what you're doing," Duncan complained. Despite his palpable excitement about being near his father, Duncan had been slightly downcast since saying goodbye to Little Lamplight that morning.

"No, you don't," Mac countered, gesturing vigorously at the older woman they had seen the other day.

 

In Jess's house, they cleaned up and cobbled together a lunch from the odds and ends in Jess's refrigerator.

"Have you made up your mind, Jess?" Nick asked. They sat around the cramped kitchen table, elbow-to-elbow.

Jess looked up, her mouth full of bread and meat. "Made up my mind?"

Nick nodded. "Did you decide if you wanted to come with us?"

"What?" Nora stopped chewing and glanced between Jess and Nick. "I mean, yeah, of course you're welcome, Jess. I just didn't think..." She trailed off.

MacCready frowned. "Don't you live here? You really want to tag along with us?... Duncan, you need to eat your food."

Jess sighed and set down her sandwich. "I need to tell you guys what's going on with me. I told Nick already, but you deserve to know, too."

By the time Jess was finished narrating her history, Duncan's eyes had grown huge. "Some of the other kids told stories about you in Little Lamplight," he said in a hushed voice. "I always thought you were a pretend story though, like Santa Claus."

Jess managed a chuckle. "Sometimes I wish all the bad things were pretend."

Duncan nodded with a seriousness beyond his years. "Me, too."

Mac made an involuntary gasping sound and quickly covered it with a cough. He patted Duncan on the shoulder and was suddenly reluctant to make eye contact, staring up at the corner of the ceiling.

Jess chewed on her lip. "Anyway, uh, I've been trying to decide what to do. It's been a while since I've had anything close to friends, other than Gob and Wadsworth. And I know we've just met, but you all are so nice to me. I keep thinking, well, maybe I could tag along with you and still help people without feeling like shit every day. Without being treated like shit every day." She shrugged. "And that sounds nice and all, but then I remember the debt I owe to this city."

"Oh, Jess," Nora said softly. She reached out and took one of Jess's hands in her own, giving it a squeeze.

Mac scoffed. "Jess, you don't owe anybody sh--" He glanced at Duncan. "You don't owe anybody anything. I swear, people like you and Nora, you just tear yourselves apart for other people, and what does it get you? Are you happy?"

"It's not about being happy," Jess countered, pulling away from Nora. "It's about doing what's right."

"Well, maybe you should think about what's right for you," Mac said. "What's the point of helping people if you're just gonna be miserable all the time? Sure, maybe you messed up when you were younger, but who hasn't?"

Nick nodded slowly as Mac spoke. "I'm not usually inclined to agree with MacCready on these things, but I think he has a point. You deserve to have some happiness, doll."

"And if people expect you to  _die_ for them, then they're assholes," Mac added, then winced. "Sorry, Duncan. Then they're jerks, is what I'm saying. I mean, look at Nora. She got away from the Commonwealth and she's doing fine. She doesn't owe them a thing. Right, Nora?"

Nora shrugged and looked down at her plate. "I mean..."

MacCready stared at her, startled. "I thought... I thought you were happy you left. I know you feel guilty about Preston, but I thought overall, you were happy. You aren't?"

"I didn't say I wasn't happy. I just... I don't know. It wasn't an easy decision. I'm glad we're here, and that we have Duncan with us. I don't regret that." Nora shifted so she was facing Jess. "Listen, it's a personal thing. I had to get away because I just couldn't handle it. Maybe it's different for you. I don't know. But if you'd like to leave, we'd be happy to have you along."

Jess took a long drink from her water bottle. "Okay," she said finally.

"Okay?" Nora repeated.

Jess nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll come with you."

"Really?"

"Don't keep asking or I might change my mind."

Nick grinned. "Glad to have you along, partner." 

"Well, someone has to be around to keep saving your lives."

 

 

Outside the gates of Megaton, dusty caravaneers milled about and kept watch over their pack brahmins. The massive brahmins mooed and flicked their tails at insects in the summer heat, warily eyeing Nora and her group with double sets of moist black eyes.

"Uh, hello," Nora said meekly they approached. No one looked at her.

Jess offered Nora a smile, then turned to the caravaneers and bellowed, "Hey! We're looking for work! Where are you all headed?"

A perspiring woman with her hair wrapped in a bandana pointed vaguely to the left. "Headed up to Philadelphia. Got a deal with some tribes there. Then we're headed to the Commonwealth."

"That's no good," Nora whispered to Jess. "I don't want to go back there. Not yet."

Jess nodded and turned back to the caravaneers. "Anyone else?"

The woman in a bandana rolled her eyes. "Not good enough for you?"

"We just aren't interested in going east," Nora tried to explain, but the woman shrugged and looked away.

"We're going to Nevada," a bearded man offered. He patted one of his brahmin on the flank. "Weirdest shipment I ever had, just a bunch of wires and junk. Could use some extra hands. It's only me and this guy right now." He pointed to a bald man smoking by the gates.

Jess lifted an eyebrow. "Well? What do you think, Nora?"

Nora turned to Nick and MacCready. "Fine by me, but it's up to you guys."

The bearded man began shaking his head, and he pointed at Nick. "Oh no, oh no. You didn't tell me there was robots. No robots. I don't trust 'em. A kid is bad enough, but I draw the line at robots."

Duncan, sitting on MacCready's shoulders and wearing his hat, shot the man a glare from under the brim.

"Sir," Nick began, but the bearded man's associate walked up to them and interrupted.

"Come on, Jim, we need the help," the bald man said, flicking his cigarette into the dirt. He gazed at the bearded man through dark sunglasses. Since when do you have anything against robots? I've seen those magazines you keep in your pillowcase. _Fisto Change-o_?"

Jim sputtered. "I-- I don't know what you're talking about." His face had flushed to a deep red. "Whatever. Fine. You all can come. If you keep up with the work, it's ten caps a day each for the three of you." He gestured to Nora, Jess, and MacCready. "Just keep your kid and your robot out of trouble."

"That won't be a problem," Nick said darkly.

"So when do we leave?" Mac asked.

Jim grunted. "Tomorrow morning. Meet us here by eight or we leave without you." He strode away from them and lit a cigarette.

Nora bit her lip. "You sure you want to travel with these people, Nick?" she asked under her breath. "The guy seems kind of... awful."

Nick shrugged. "I've dealt with a little prejudice before. This seems like our best option."

"But Nick..."

"It's all right, Nora. We can always ditch them if things get too bad." Nick was smiling at her, the exposed gears in his neck whirring. "I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Did I ever tell you about the time I scared the daylights outta some fellow by pretending to be a bomb?"

"Only a dozen times."

"Hey, thanks for that," Jess said to the bald man, who was still lurking next to them. "We appreciate it."

It was difficult to tell where the man was looking due to the sunglasses, but somehow Nora felt his eyes on her instead of Jess.

"It's no problem." He grinned and wiped the sweat off his brow. "What a day, huh?"


	13. Chapter 13

Upon them fell their first night with the caravan. They made camp in an abandoned barn somewhere in Maryland, the interior of the building so thick with dust that Nora imagined they were the first people in two hundred years to set foot inside. The farm equipment, though rusted, still had all its parts intact, at least as far as Nora could tell. A pair of skeletons lay in the corner, dressed in molding pre-war clothes.

They covered the skeletons with a tarp, then gathered around a small fire Jim lit inside of a metal bucket. Nick contented himself with scavenging through the farm equipment for spare parts while everyone else ate a late dinner. Dog, who had killed and devoured a mole rat a few hours prior, flopped languidly to the floor of the barn.

Nora fiddled with the radio on her Pip-Boy until she found a staticky station.

 _Every night I hope and pray a dream lover will come my way_.

"This is a new song," Nora commented, looking down at her Pip-Boy. "I never heard it in the Commonwealth."

"So you're from the Commonwealth?" asked the bald man, who had identified himself as Ryan. He had one leg stretched in front of him, the other bent at the knee. "I hear it's a lot nicer than D.C."

"I suppose," Nora said.

The back of her neck prickled the way it had so many times today, a reaction Nora realized had everything to do with Ryan. Ryan interacted with everyone in the caravan party, but the man's attention always ended up zeroed back in on Nora:

_"So where'd you get that Pip-Boy?"_

_"It's a hot one today, huh?"_

_"I like the vault suit. You steal that from someone?"_

Ryan never took his sunglasses off. It hadn't seemed like a big deal during the daytime, but now he was staring at Nora through black lenses in a dim barn at night, and the result was unsettling. Nora had purposefully sat between Jess and MacCready as a buffer, but apparently that wasn't going to deter their new travel companion.

"So tell me about the Commonwealth," Ryan said.

Nora stood up, perhaps too quickly. All eyes were on her except Jim's; his were focused on his bowl of Pork 'n' Beans.

"Uh, Jess?" she said. "Can I, uh, talk to you outside? It's about... that time of the month."

Mac's eyebrows shot up so far they met the brim of his hat. Duncan looked at his father questioningly.

Jess blinked at Nora. "Um, yeah, sure." After setting down her plate, Jess stood and followed Nora outside.

Nora strode a few paces from the barn before she turned to Jess. "Okay, so what is going on?" she hissed.

Jess's eyes glinted back at her in the bright moonlight. "Is this... Is this the first time you've had your period since you've woken up? That can't be right. Hasn't it been almost a year?"

"What? No, no, no." Nora shook her head. "That was just an excuse to get you out here."

Jess exhaled. "Oh! Well, that's good. I wasn't sure how helpful I would be. Anyway, what's up?"

Nora gestured at the barn. " _Ryan_. Haven't you noticed that he won't leave me alone?"

"I did notice that he talks to you a lot," Jess said. "I just assumed he had a crush on you. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable, but you're gorgeous compared to most of the people who grew up in the Wasteland. You have all your teeth, for one thing. You're also not as... leathery."

Nora ran a finger across the scar on her chin. She was pretty sure that it would be permanent. "This doesn't feel like a crush, though."

"What does it feel like?"

Nora gestured vaguely at the air. "I don't know. He just gives me the creeps, I guess."

"I'll keep an eye out for you," Jess promised. "If he tries anything weird, he's getting a laser rifle to the balls." She mimicked stabbing someone with the butt of her gun.

"Thanks, Jess." Nora looked up to the sky, the stars flickering like cigarette embers in the blackness. Nora had always heard of light pollution in her pre-war days, but it was something else to witness the difference it made in absence. "For what it's worth, I'm really glad you decided to come with us."

"You're sweet. I'm glad, too." Jess smirked. "Although it would have been hilarious if you had to call MacCready out here to talk about your period."

They returned to the barn with Nora in much higher spirits, relieved to see that the men were cleaning up and getting ready for bed. Ryan and Jim rolled out their sleeping bags on one side of the barn, everybody else on the other. Nick sat down on their side with a book, petting Dog absently with his skeletal hand.

Mac looked sideways at Nora when he asked, "Everything okay?"

Nora offered him a cheery smile. "Of course. Everything's great."

"Good." He shrugged off his duster and laid it over Duncan's sleeping bag.

"Dad, it's not cold," Duncan mumbled, but he snuggled into the coat and closed his eyes.

Mac removed his hat and raked a hand through his hair, absently staring down at the floor .

"Are  _you_ okay?" Nora asked quietly. She glanced across the room. Jim was lying down in his sleeping bag. Ryan was sitting up, but mercifully was not looking her way.

"Huh?" Mac asked, his eyes flicking back up to meet Nora's. "Oh yeah, great. It's just..." His voice lowered almost to a whisper, and he gestured to Duncan. "You just want to protect them from everything, you know? But you can't. You have to sleep next to skeletons and travel with creepy assholes."

"So you noticed, then?"

"How creepy they are?" Mac huffed. "Of course I noticed. The one hates Nick just 'cause he's a synth, and the other won't stop eyeing you up." MacCready's shoulders twitched. "If he's making you uncomfortable, let me know. I'll kick his ass."

"Jess already promised the same. You might have to fight her for the privilege."

"So  _that's_ what you were talking about. I wondered..."

Nora laughed and glanced across the room again. Ryan was staring straight at her, but quickly turned his head. Mac followed Nora's line of sight, then looked back at her.

"He's a creep," Mac concluded.

Nora nodded, but intuitively Mac's statement didn't sound right. It was like trying to solve a puzzle with only half the pieces. Something was missing.

 

Nora awoke in darkness. The embers of the fire had long since cooled, and either Nick's eyes were closed or he had gone outside for a smoke.

Nora registered a weight across her chest and nearly screamed, then realized MacCready had thrown an arm over her in his sleep. Nora took in a few calming breaths and turned her head toward Mac. It was difficult to make out his features in the dark, but she could hear his faint snoring. His exhales were warm on her face. Nora wondered if he thought she was Lucy.

Nora squirmed out of Mac's embrace and sat up. She had woken up for a reason, she was sure of it. Nora wasn't exactly a heavy sleeper, but she normally slept through the night unless something disturbed the silence.

"--out of Diamond City."

Nora perked up. A faint voice from outside carried into the barn. It sounded like Nick.

Nora slid out of her sleeping bag and crept to the barn door. The odor of cigarette smoke wafted through the cracks in the barn, and Nora had to pinch her nose to stop herself from sneezing. She crouched by the door and tried to see out of a gap in the wood, but it was too dark.

"Why is it called Diamond City?" The second voice belonged to Ryan.

"Not for any glamorous reason," Nick answered. "It's built on an old baseball diamond."

"A what?"

"Baseball was an pre-war sport, and the field they played on was shaped like a diamond."

"Ah. Gotcha."

"I was a detective there, if you can believe it," Nick added.

"Hell yeah, I can," Ryan enthused. "You look the part." 

Nick laughed gruffly. "You think? With this face, and this hand? I'm lucky I wasn't run out of town."

"They don't like synths too much where you're from? That's a tough break, man. Forget them."

Nick took a moment to respond. In the absence of voices, Nora's breathing sounded too loud in her ears.

"Where did you say you were from, partner?" Nick asked finally. The question sounded pointed, but Nora couldn't figure out why.

"D.C.," Ryan answered. "Haven't done much traveling yet. This is my first time with a caravan, actually. It's great to have you guys along."

"Hmm."

Ryan laughed, though to Nora it sounded uncomfortable. "So hey, man, thanks for the smoke. Always appreciate midnight chats with friends, but I think I'm gonna hit the sack."

Nora started and was able to dart back to her sleeping bag before Ryan entered the barn. She lay down and tried to make her breathing sound natural. Ryan's footsteps pattered across the wood floor, and then there was the rustle of his sleeping bag. Nick returned soon after, his eyes infusing the barn with a dim glow.

Nora turned to her side and gazed at the barn wall. Again, she felt as if she were missing something. Something had made Nick suspicious, something other than Ryan's general creepiness. But despite the questions roiling in Nora's mind, they had traveled a long way that day and the exhaustion took the edge off her thoughts. 

The answer came to Nora when she was in the muddled state of half-sleep.

No one from D.C. would have used the word "synth."


	14. Chapter 14

Nowhere on the New Vegas Strip was safe from Mr. House's many eyes. Nowhere, ironically, but within the Lucky 38 itself. Mari's suite was free from securitron guards, and she had, on multiple occasions, scanned the rooms for bugs or tape recorders. Nothing ever turned up. Apparently, fighting a war on the side of Mr. House was one of the rare methods of earning his absolute trust.

The elevator closed behind Mari after she stepped into the suite's hallway. She dropped her bag to the ground, sending up a cloud of dust. Fuck, she needed to clean. It was too bad the others didn't live there anymore, especially Lily. That super mutant sure knew how to use a vacuum cleaner.

Mari turned the corner into the kitchen and her eyes widened a fraction. Only people who knew her well (and not too many did anymore) would have registered the suppressed shock in her expression.

"Hey," Mari said casually. "Wasn't expecting you here today, Ronnie. Looking good."

Veronica Santangelo sat at the kitchen table, legs stretched out in front of her and crossed at the ankles. She had let her hair grow out over the past few years; it tumbled down the shoulders of her rose-colored dress.

Veronica waved. "I was around and figured I would save you the trouble of looking for me on Wednesday."

"How'd you get past Victor?"

"I just told him I was 'here from Gomorrah like Mariposa requested.' He didn't seem too interested in inquiring any further." Veronica cracked a smile.

"That was brave. And stupid." Mari plopped into the chair opposite Veronica's and cracked her knuckles loudly. "Did you hear that? Ouch. Anyway, even though you should know better than to come here, it's good to see you. I'm getting pretty fed up with the old..." She pointed upstairs, toward the penthouse. "The old... him."

"Is he getting suspicious?" Veronica asked.

"Do you want a drink or something?"

Mari opened the fridge and grabbed a Nuka-Cola for Veronica and herself. Veronia accepted the soda wordlessly and took a small sip.

"What were you saying?" Mari asked, sitting back down.

Veronica rolled the bottle between her pale hands. "Is he suspicious? About the Brotherhood?" She let go of the bottle and wiped her hands on the skirt of her dress.

Mari drank for longer than she really wanted to, nearly finishing half the bottle in one go. "No. Maybe? I don't know. It's so hard to tell with him. I can't read his expression." She burped.

Veronica made a face. "His expression? Isn't he a screen?"

"Yeah, exactly. It's hard to get a read on just a disembodied voice."

Mari scratched at one of the newer tattoos on her arm, an image of two cazadores intertwined in the shape of a heart. Mari had gotten the new ink after a night of drinking at The Tops, but she wasn't quite sure of any of the details beyond that.

"I'd say he's not suspicious, not yet," Mari said after a moment. "Crazy rumors pop up all the time, you know? There's no reason for him to believe this one." Mari picked at the label on the bottle with a dirty fingernail. "He still trusts me. That, I know."

"One hundred percent sure?"

"One hundred proof."

"That's only fifty percent..."

"Huh. You'd think I'd know that. Well, double it. Two hundred proof? Anyway, I can tell he trusts me." Mari gestured vaguely at the stocked cupboards. "Guys like him think all it takes to keep a woman happy is a nice room and a shit-ton of money. He couldn't even _fathom_ a situation where I'd be unhappy here."

"Hmm. I'm not sure you're giving him enough credit," Veronica said. "He's a genius, right?"

"So he claims." Mari waved her hands dramatically. " _Ooh_ , the great Mr. House, so wise and omnipotent... But seriously, Ronnie, he trusts me. I mean it."

"You'd better be right. We need to be prepared for the next steps."

Mari ran her hands through her hair and then downed the rest of her Nuka-Cola. "So, how's Cass?"

A slight blush crept into Veronica's complexion. "She's fine."

Mari grinned. "Oh, yeah? You guys make it official yet?"

"I don't even know what that means."

"Tell her I miss her. Why doesn't she ever visit?"

Veronica looked Mari in the eyes and offered a small shrug. "You know why, Mari."

Mari sighed. "Yeah, guess I do."

"I know she'll come around eventually," Veronica said. "I'll keep talking to her."

"Nah, don't bother. I don't want to ruin what you two have going on." Mari leaned back in her chair and examined the dusty ceiling. "As long as she's on board for, you know, all the parts that don't involve talking to me."

"She is."

"Great," Mari said cheerfully, plastering on a smile.

Veronica stood and slung her knapsack over her shoulder. It was the same crummy leather bag she had been carrying when they first met. "I should go. I just wanted to check in."

"That's fine. I gotta go squash a rumor."

"Let me know if anything changes." Veronica paused at the entryway to the kitchen. "We'll talk next Wednesday?"

Mari nodded. "Yes, ma'am. But Ronnie? Don't come here anymore. I don't order prostitutes often enough that anyone can just come and go without being noticed. We don't want fucking Victor to rat us out."


	15. Chapter 15

It was quiet travelling the next morning. In bits of whispers, Nora filled in Mac and Jess on the strange conversation she'd overheard between Nick and Ryan. Neither of them seemed as concerned as Nora.

"Language travels," was Jess's explanation. "I'll admit Ryan's creepy, but using the word 'synth' doesn't mean he's hiding something."

"Yeah, I might have heard it once or twice when I lived here," Mac agreed.

At the front of the caravan party, Nick walked close to Ryan and Jim. Even from a few yards behind them, Nora could hear Nick making cheerful small talk. Every so often, Nick would look back at Nora and they would exchange nods.

"What's up with Nick?" MacCready asked after picking up on the nods. "You guys have some secret code?"

"Maybe we do," Nora said. "Are you jealous?"

Mac huffed.

"I think Nick knows I heard them last night," Nora explained. "Or he's giving us a reprieve from Ryan and Jim. Either way, I'm not complaining."

"Neither am I, trust me," Mac said. " _O_ _uch_ , Duncan, what are you doing?"

"I want to get down and walk," said Duncan from atop Mac's shoulders.

"Doesn't mean you have to pull my hair. I'm not a pack brahmin."

Duncan giggled and Mac crouched to let him down.

"That means I get the hat back, buddy."

"No fair, Dad."

"Them's the rules, partner." Mac extended his hand and Duncan reluctantly returned the hat.

Duncan walked on his own for about five minutes before complaining that his feet hurt. MacCready groaned, but picked up Duncan again and carried him against his chest.

"You think working for the Gunners builds up muscle?" Mac adjusted his arms. "Try carrying around a five year old."

 _Or a sixty year old_. Nora pictured carrying Shaun as he was now, more than twice her age, bearded, wearing a lab coat...

He had looked a lot like Nate. That had been unexpected. Not unexpected that Shaun would look like his parents, of course, but the fact Nora had gone in expecting a child and ended up face-to-face with what Nate might have looked like if he had been allowed to age.

Nate had grown a beard after returning from his time in the army. Nora never really thought it suited her husband, but it made Shaun look dignified. Professional. Adult.

Shaun. She had told him to fuck off.

What was  _wrong_ with her?

She could have at least listened to him, heard him out.

She was his  _mother_ , for God's sake.

"Nora? Are you okay?" Jess's voice broke into her thoughts.

Nora blinked and suddenly felt the wetness of tears on her cheeks. She shook her head quickly and brushed a sleeve across her face.

"I... Yeah."

"Hey!" MacCready yelled to the rest of the party. Nick, Ryan, and Jim looked back at him. "Quick break?"

Jim spat out a lump of tobacco in response, but stopped walking.

"Jess, you mind watching Duncan for a minute?"

 

Mac led Nora behind a group of skeletal trees. A radroach popped up out of a clump of grass when they approached. Mac slammed the butt of his rifle into the insect and kicked its corpse away.

"Sit down," he ordered, pointing.

"Mac, what are you doing? I'm fine."

He slung the rifle across his back and sighed. "Just sit down, okay?"

Nora sat. The ground was dry and hard. MacCready sat down next to her, knees bent in front of him. He rummaged in his bag for a cigarette and clamped it between his teeth without lighting it.

"So?" Nora asked.

"We need to talk," Mac mumbled around the cigarette, staring ahead. "Ever since you said all that stuff at Jess's..." He trailed off.

"What stuff?"

"You're not happy here, are you?" Mac risked a glance toward her, briefly meeting her eyes. "Do you want to go back? To the Commonwealth? Cause we can do that. If you want to."

Nora shook her head. "Mac, there's nowhere I can go where it's not all hanging over me like a fucking ghost. Not unless you can send me back two hundred years."

Mac finally remembered to light his cigarette, and inhaled deeply. "Yeah, I know."

They sat in silence, a trail of smoke wafting upward.

"Lucy always said I should quit smoking," Mac said after a few moments.

"You should. It's terrible for you." Nora traced a spiral into the dirt with her finger.

Mac chuckled. "I guess I never expected to live long enough where it would actually matter." He examined the half-smoked cigarette and then tossed it into the grass. "Did I ever tell you that the last conversation I ever had with Lucy was a stupid argument?"

Nora looked up from the dirt. "No, you didn't."

"Hmm. Well, it was. A really stupid argument. I don't even remember what it was about. We were just tired and hungry, and it's hard to control your temper when you don't even know where you're going to find your next meal, you know?"

Nora didn't know, not really.

"So, I mean, we were pretty pissed off at each other," Mac continued. "And of course Duncan wouldn't stop crying. Not that I blame him for it. But I remember going to sleep thinking, well, at least there's tomorrow. We can make up and maybe even find some food tomorrow. It'll be okay, tomorrow. Except, you know, there wasn't a tomorrow for Lucy." He shrugged. "And it hangs over me like a ghost, just like you said. You can't outrun it. You can't get away from it. And I'm not trying to make you sadder, telling you this. I just want you to know that I understand. We don't have to go back to the Commonwealth, not unless you want to."

Nora swallowed through the lump in her throat and was about to reply when Ryan bounded in from behind the trees.

"There you are! We were worried a molerat got you two."

Nora glared at Ryan, but he continued smiling and staring, standing above them with his arms crossed. "Are you ready to go?"

Mac sighed. "Yeah, just a minute." He stood and offered his hand to Nora to help her up. When Nora was on her feet, he didn't let go, instead giving her hand a squeeze. His palm was rough.

"You good?" Mac asked softly.

Nora glanced at Ryan, whose eyes, despite being hidden, were clearly glued on her hand in Mac's. For the first time since Nora had known him, Ryan's smile had slipped. His brow creased above his sunglasses in a way Nora could only describe as sad. It was as if he had taken off a mask.

Nora nodded at Mac and pulled her hand away. "Thanks, Mac."

Ryan's smile had reappeared by the time Nora looked back up at him.

"Your friend Nick was telling me the funniest story," Ryan told them on their way back. "So this one time, he pretended to be a bomb..."


	16. Chapter 16

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." That was what Shakespeare had written.

By that logic, a pile of brahmin shit by any other name would still smell like brahmin shit.

He considered himself to fall more into the brahmin shit category than the rose category, and whatever name he was going by didn't change a damn thing.

 

His mother had hoarded pre-war books, or at least made the effort to do so with such a limited supply of them out there. The ones she had salvaged were pretty good. A few detective novels. A philosophy textbook. A cookbook full of foods that no longer existed. And her absolute favorite,  _The Complete Works of Shakespeare_. The bombs had left the tome a little less than "complete" by the time his mother got her hands on it, but it still contained quite a lot. It was from that book his mother got inspiration for her son's name.

 _Romeo and Juliet_ was her favorite play, but the book was missing the last act. Sitting by his bedside, his mother had assured him that Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after. He had replied that the full title was  _T_ _he Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedie of Romeo and Juliet_ _._

"Tragedy meant something different back then," she had said.

She was wrong. Tragedy was what he knew happened at the end of _Romeo and Juliet_ , and it didn't mean anything different from tragedy in 2255, when his mother died.

 

The vault woman, Nora, she had known tragedy. He could tell just by looking at her.

(He also knew because he had been following her around for the past year.)

She didn't trust him. He didn't blame her. He was doing a shit job of laying low, which was supposed to be his fucking specialty.

_Not so smooth are you now, big guy?_

It didn't help that he was on a time frame, and every hour that passed was an hour further from the Commonwealth. It was enough to make a guy antsy, even a guy as cool as he was.

Desdemona was going to kill him. Or, more likely, outsource it to Glory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya'll called it.


	17. Chapter 17

The Ultra-Luxe casino smelled like barbecue for reasons Mari did not want to dwell on. A few years back, Mortimer had promised her that the Gourmand would stick to brahmin and gecko steaks from now on, but he was about as trustworthy as a deathclaw with a missile launcher. As Mari strode through the lobby onto the casino floor, her stomach growled as if to spite her.

Mari wove through the crowd of masked patrons, one hand on the gun in her belt. The gun was small, but the fact she was packing was enough to get her noticed in the casino. Openly carrying a weapon was a privilege few could claim at the Ultra-Luxe. So was being admitted while wearing a pair of overalls and muddy cowboy boots.

Mari spied a young woman sitting at the bar. The woman wore a lacy lavender dress and white gloves, and had her dark hair coiffed elaborately around her face. She was unmasked, one of the few bare faces in the casino.

Mari sidled up to the bar and felt several pairs of eyes burning into the back of her head. 

"Rum and Nuka," she ordered the bartender, slapping a few caps on the counter. 

"Certainly, ma'am," he said, his voice tinny behind the mask.

The bartender set a glass in front of her. It was a clean glass, cleaner than anything in her suite. No fingerprint smudges or anything.

Mari lifted the drink to her mouth and sipped. She picked a piece of eggshell off her sleeve absently, then glanced to her left. The woman in the lavender dress quickly looked down, a blush forming on her cheeks.

"No mask, huh?" Mari asked her.

The woman looked back up at Mari with round green eyes. "Oh, no. I mean, I have one." She lifted something white from the counter beside her. "But it just gets so hot to keep it on the whole time."

Mari cracked a smile. "Can't risk you getting any hotter, huh?"

The woman's eyes widened and she stifled a giggle. "I have a boyfriend."

"That's nice. I'm Mari."

Mari extended her hand and, after a moment of hesitation, the woman took it. 

"I'm Crystal." Her hand was dainty and cool in Mari's.

"Delightful." Mari lifted her glass. "Cheers?"

Crystal clinked her glass against Mari's. She was drinking something pink that smelled like fruit.

"So, Crystal, do you come here often?"

Crystal shrugged, her eyes wandering the room aimlessly. "About every week. My boyfriend likes it here. Honestly, I prefer the Tops, but I don't get much of a say. Fred has the caps, so he calls the shots."

Mari scanned the crowd of ball gowns and tuxedos. "Is he here right now?"

Crystal nodded and pointed toward one of the roulette tables. "Fred's the one with the purple boutonniere. He really likes to get into the spirit. The dressing up and everything. I guess if you can afford it, there's no harm though, right?"

"Uh huh." Mari drained her glass. Crystal's boyfriend was chatting with a few other masked men at the table, a drink in his hand.

"Not to be rude," Crystal asked. "But are you Mariposa Lopez? You called yourself Mari, and I noticed the Pip-Boy you're wearing..."

Mari tore her eyes away from Crystal's boyfriend. "Crystal, let me tell you something."

"All right." Crystal narrowed her eyes.

"I'm looking at your boyfriend over there, and I think you could do better."

Crystal's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

Mari nodded. "In fact, I'm sure of it. So let me make you a proposition, because I like you. You get out of here, as far away as you can, and I won't come for you after I've dealt with lover boy over there."

"What are you talk--" Crystal froze. Mari had removed the gun from her belt and was nudging it into Crystal's waist under the counter.

"Please go," Mari whispered. "Like I said, I like you. I don't want you to have to see this."

Crystal stood, shaking visibly. She glanced toward her boyfriend, then back at Mari.

"Don't say a word to him or anyone else," Mari warned, gesturing toward her gun. "You can't save him."

Crystal's face twitched, her eyes brimming with tears. She tore past Mari and fled, leaving her mask at the bar.

Mari sighed and stood, then marched over to the boyfriend.

"You Fred Williams?" she asked loudly.

All eyes in the casino turned to her.

"Yeah." Fred Williams faced her and planted his hands on his hips. "What's it to you?"

"Not much to me," Mari replied, "but it's a lot to Mr. House."

Fred paled. "I didn't do anything to Mr. House."

Mari shook her head. "Well, Freddy, I'd like to think so, but the securitrons have recordings of you egging the Lucky 38. Eggs all over the place. Kinda rude, don't you think?"

"What? I never fucking egged the Lucky 38."

"And in addition to that, we've been hearing about all the crazy rumors you've been spreading. Now can you tell all these nice people that the dancers at Gomorrah aren't really super mutants in disguise?"

 _"What?"_ Fred's eyes darted to the men he'd been so chummy with a few minutes past. None of them moved to help him.

"And that the Brotherhood of Steel hasn't returned from the grave?" Mari added. "Oh, and there was also something about a trader selling ghoul meat in Freeside. Have you been stung by a cazador lately? That can really mess with your mind."

"I didn't say those things." Fred took a step backward, his back hitting the roulette table. "Except for..." Understanding dawned on his face. "Oh, fuck."

Mortimer and Marjorie hovered at one of the doors, conversing nervously, but neither moved to stop Mari. They were as dependent on Mr. House as any of the other casino managers on the Strip.

"This is from Mr. House," Mari continued. She waved an arm at the onlookers. "Ya'll might want to move back a ways."

Mari lifted her pistol and fired. Before Fred could react, a blossom of red had bloomed in the front of his shirt, staining the purple boutonniere. He collapsed, clutching at his chest.

"Have a nice day, everyone," Mari said. "Enjoy the casino. Try the food at the Gourmand; it's definitely gecko meat."

Mari grabbed Fred under the arms, then slung him over her shoulder. She strode to the elevators with the unconscious man limp on her back. The patrons of the Ultra-Luxe stared at her on her way out, expressions hidden under the white masks.

 

In her Ultra-Luxe hotel room, Mari shut the door behind her and gently laid Fred on the ground.

"Clean carpet," she commented to the man who was already in the room. "It's a shame to stain it."

"You're late." The blond, bespectacled man crossed his arms and looked down at Fred. "You said it would only take fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, well, I had to flirt with his girlfriend first," Mari said.

Arcade Gannon sighed and rubbed his eyes under the glasses. "Of _course_ you did."

"Shut up. I have my reasons." Mari knelt down next to Fred, feeling his wrist for a pulse. "Oh, shit. What if I killed him?"

"It's a dart, Mari. It won't kill him."

"He's been drinking." Mari pressed an ear to Fred's chest and sat back up with red liquid dripping down her cheek. "Could the combination of alcohol and the dart kill him?"

Arcade rolled his eyes. "Which one of us is the doctor? He'll be fine, but I'll monitor his vitals until he wakes up."

Mari plucked the dart out of Fred's chest and relaxed when she saw his chest rising and falling. The small dart, technically a modified syringe, had been filled with animal blood and a sedative. Nothing deadly (Mari hoped), but enough to knock a grown man out in seconds.

"I don't feel right about this," Arcade admitted.

"I know, me neither. But it was either this or kill him. He was on Mr. House's shit list." Mari wiped her hand on the leg of her overalls. "Here, help me get him onto the bed."

They lifted Fred onto the bed and lay him on top of the comforter. Fred groaned, his eyes darting about under the lids.

"You remember what to tell him when he wakes up?" Mari asked, stretching her arms.

"Yeah, yeah," Arcade confirmed. "And I've got the masks and the clean clothes. But if he tries to strangle me, I am not going to be happy."

"Take my gun just in case." Mari lifted her pant leg to reveal a pistol strapped around her ankle. "This holster is chafing like a bitch anyway."

"Uh, I'll pass." Arcade shook his head. "We're trying to save the guy's life. Doesn't shooting him seem counterproductive?"

Mari shrugged and lowered her pant leg. "Your choice." She clapped Arcade on the back. "Thanks for helping me out, partner. I've missed working with you."

"It certainly doesn't want for excitement." Arcade paused. "Do you want to clean the blood off your face before you go back downstairs?"

"Everyone already thinks I'm a stone cold killer," Mari said, but she wiped her face on her sleeve.


	18. Chapter 18

Solving mysteries was what Nick Valentine did best, and he'd be taken apart for scrap metal before admitting that he couldn't crack a case. Ryan was proving to be a difficult case, but his fissures were starting to show. Nick was confident.

The titles he imagined for this case were especially delicious. His favorite? _Shady Behind the Shades: A Nick Valentine Mystery._ He thought Nora would appreciate that one.

Nick walked with Ryan and Jim that morning, hoping to ask them some questions. Nora was watching them carefully from a few yards back, and Nick turned to nod at her to communicate to her that everything was all right. She nodded back, but a thoughtful frown remained on her face.

"You folks have any family back in the Capital?" Nick asked lightly, as if the question had just crossed his mind.

"Nope," Ryan said. "I was a Rivet Town orphan. You ever read any Dickens?"

"I can't say that I have."

"Well, it was a Dickensian experience."

Nick could see himself in Ryan's sunglasses and he felt a familiar jolt upon realizing his reflection wasn't the human face he still somehow expected.

"What about you, Jim? Any family?"

Jim scrunched his nose at Nick as if he'd smelled something rotten.

"You wanna be civil today?" Ryan prompted Jim. "The man asked you a question."

Nick appreciated the sentiment, but something in Ryan's voice made him sound perpetually sarcastic.

Jim scoffed. "He ain't a man."

"Jim," Nick began. Jim looked affronted that Nick had the audacity to use his name. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but can we bury the hatchet? I know I might not look human, but I'm really just a regular guy."

Ryan nodded encouragingly. "It's a lot more fun to travel with friends, Jim. Trust me." He grinned then, although Nick wasn't sure why.

Jim's tongue worked at a lump of tobacco in his cheek. "I got a wife and two daughters," he said at length. "Twins. They're eight years old."

Jim didn't look happy to be talking to Nick, but at least there was talking. That meant Nick could focus his attention on Ryan.

"So Jim has a wife. You got a girlfriend back home, Ryan?" Nick asked. "Or a boyfriend?" He felt slightly ashamed that the original Nick wouldn't have added the second question.

Ryan's reply was the same as before: "Nope."

"Well, can I tell you something then, friend to friend?"

Ryan smiled. "Anything for a friend."

"It kinda seems..." Nick hesitated. "It kinda seems like you're interested in Nora. And I just wanted to say she's not available."

If Nora had heard this, she might have slapped Nick for speaking on her behalf, but Nick hoped his tactlessness would lead to the greater good.

Ryan's expression didn't change. "You mean romantically?" He pushed his sunglasses higher up his nose with one finger. "Oh, no. She's definitely not my type. No worries there."

"Then why do you keep talking to her?" Nick pressed, but he was interrupted.

"Hey!" MacCready shouted. "Quick break?"

They stopped walking.

Once MacCready and Nora had disappeared behind some trees, Ryan finally responded: "Nora is an interesting person. Seems like she has a story to tell. I like hearing people's stories."

Nick hummed. "She does have a story, but I don't think she appreciates being... bothered."

Apparently uninterested in the conversation, Jim busied himself pouring some water for the brahmin.

Ryan scratched at his reddish stubble. "I didn't realize I was bothering her."

Nick heard a lot of lies in his line of work, and was pretty damn good at identifying them. Ellie sometimes called him "the first sentient lie detector."

"I don't believe you," Nick said. "I think you knew, and you went ahead anyway."

Ryan stared at Nick, Dog's barks puncturing the heavy silence.

"I'll leave her alone from now on," Ryan finally muttered.

"She'd appreciate that."

Ryan nodded. For a few moments, they watched Duncan play with Jess's Pip-Boy.

"Mind if I ask a follow-up?"

Ryan took a deep breath. "Sure, pal."

"Will you answer it?"

Ryan laughed, his shoulders relaxing slightly. "Depends on the question, I guess."

"What are you really doing here? I know you're not from D.C."

Ryan's face gave away nothing. "Interesting idea. What makes you say that?"

"It's Rivet City, not Rivet Town, first of all. Even I know that. Second, last night you used the word 'synth,' and people around here usually say 'robot' or 'android.' And last, I'm pretty sure I've seen you around the Commonwealth before. I've got a good memory for faces, and the whole time we've been traveling together I've been thinking you look familiar."

Ryan appraised Nick thoughtfully. "Well, Mr. Valentine, that's an interesting set of accusations. But they're not true. Anyway, our friends have been M.I.A. for a little too long. Should I go find them?"

Nick sighed. "Be my guest."

Nick hashed out the possibilities. Ryan could be from the Institute, but from what Nick knew of the Institute, they seemed the types to get their dirty work done without lingering. Slip in during the night and replace your family with synths, or just leave you stranded in a dump with a head full of someone else's memories. At least, that's what he thought might have happened. Nick's recollection of that time was hazy. In any case, Nick couldn't envision the Institute sending someone to tag along with them for this long.

Definitely not the Brotherhood of Steel, either, even though they desperately wanted to get their hands on Nora for some reason. But if Ryan was Brotherhood, they would know it. The Brotherhood was the flashy sort.

An event from a few years back sprung to Nick's mind unbidden. Nick had been snooping around the airport which currently served as the Brotherhood of Steel headquarters. Back then, it had been empty except for a few feral ghouls. When Nick had exited the building, a nervous young man stood outside the doors, clearly waiting for Nick.

"Can I help you?" Nick had asked.

"You're a synth?" The man's eyes had darted up and down Nick's obviously synthetic body.

"You're a sharp one."

Then the man had asked Nick something that made no sense at the time.

Nick dragged himself out of his memories when Ryan returned with Nora and MacCready, the latter two looking especially somber.

They had barely begun walking again when Nick said, "I have one more question for you, Ryan."

Nora's head shot up, her eyes burning into Nick.  _What?"_  she mouthed.

"I'm listening," Ryan said casually.

Nick paused, carefully forming the young man's words in his mind. If he didn't get this exactly right...

"Do you have a Geiger Counter?"

Ryan's mouth dropped open.

"Mine is in the shop," he said almost breathlessly.

Nick wasn't sure how to respond to this, and Ryan seemed to immediately realize his mistake under the intense gazes of everyone in their travelling party. Nick saw the exact moment Ryan gave in, the crumbling of the facade, and surprisingly, the most evident emotion on Ryan's face was relief.

"Well, fuck," Ryan said with a nervous laugh.

"You're Railroad, then?" Nick confirmed.  _Victory_.

"And you _aren't_." Ryan shook his head. "You tricked me. Where the hell did you hear that phrase?" 

"A detective has his ways."

"No, seriously. I need to know. That's a major security breach."

"Wait, wait, wait," Nora interrupted. "You're telling me that Ryan is from the Railroad? I didn't think they really existed."

Ryan snorted. "Yeah, we're the Santa Claus of the Commonwealth. If you believe hard enough, we appear and rescue you from the Institute."

"So you've been following us?" Nora demanded. "All this time?"

Ryan groaned. "Okay, so let me explain. I was trying to find a better time to discuss this. Maybe establish some trust first, but..." He gestured at Nora. "There's no easy way to say this, Nora, but we need your help. We need you to come back to the Commonwealth."

Terror filled Nora's eyes. "No. Why me?" Her voice cracked. "Why does everyone always need _my_ help?"

MacCready tentatively rested a hand on Nora's shoulder. "It's okay..."

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck. "Nora, we're aware that you're able to travel in and out of the Institute. I don't mean to sound dramatic, but maybe I do. You have the ability to save dozens of synth lives by working undercover for the Railroad."

"Except I don't," Nora protested. "If you had found me before I teleported there, maybe I could have helped you, but the Institute won't let me back in. I've been banned. Shaun said they'd kill me if I returned there."

"Who is Shaun?"

"He's my son. He's the director of the Institute. It's a long story, but my point is that I can't go back. He'd kill me."

"He'd kill his own mother?"

Nick noticed that Ryan didn't question the fact that a woman in her twenties had a son old enough to run a secret underground organization.

"He doesn't see me as his mother. He never knew me." Nora looked down at the ground. "Sorry you came all this way for nothing. For the record, I think it's noble what you're doing, but I don't think anybody is going to be able to stop them. I was there, in their facilities, and it's like living before the bombs fell. They're really advanced."

"There's nothing you can do to help us?" Ryan asked, desperation creeping into his voice. "Lives are on the line here."

"I'm confused," Jess broke in. "What is the Railroad, exactly?"

"Yeah, I'd like to know what the hell is happening here," Jim said.

"Well, the Institute is a big bad organization that creates what we call synths," Ryan explained. "Like your friend Nick here, except most synths look human. No offense."

"None taken."

"What the Railroad does is save those synths," Ryan continued. "The Institute abuses them, treats them like machines, but they're more than that, as I'm sure you've realized."

Jess looked at Nick. "Of course they are... I never knew, Nick. I'm so sorry."

"Look, Ryan." Nora scuffed her shoe in the dirt. "If you're really Railroad--and Nick seems to think you are--there's one thing I can do to help. That's to let you have my courser chip."

"Ah yes, a courser chip." Ryan replied. "I have no idea what that is."

"It's a little chip that coursers have in their brains; it lets them teleport to and from the Institute. It's how we built our teleporter. Maybe your group can use it to build your own teleporter. I'll just warn you right now that you won't get a warm welcome."

"Do you have the chip with you?"

"No. It's back in the Commonwealth. There's a settlement called Sanctuary. You'll need to go there and find a man named Sturges. He has the chip, and he might even help you with the teleporter. He scrapped the first one, but I don't see why he couldn't build another. Here..." Nora rummaged in her bag until she found a rolled up copy of  _The Boston Bugle_ and a pencil that might have been Piper's at one point. "I'll write him a note."

"Nora," Jess said softly. "Shouldn't we go back with Ryan? If they're really trying to save synths, I think they could use our help."

"Stop," MacCready warned.

"I'm not going back, Jess," Nora said, blinking rapidly. "But you could. You'd do a better job than I would, anyway."

"But, Nora..."

"We could always use help," Ryan said. "Anyone who wants to come with me is welcome to." He pointed at Jess's Pip-Boy. "And having a radio would sure make the walk go by faster."

Jess crossed her arms. "Nick, you trust him?"

"I don't know if I trust him, but he's definitely Railroad," Nick said. "And from what I've heard, the Railroad is good people."

"So you're telling me that no one is going to help me take this shipment to Nevada?" Jim asked, face reddening.

"We're still coming," MacCready said, looking at Jess. "All of us but Ryan." It was a question.

"Ryan and me," Jess said quickly. "I'm going with him."


	19. Chapter 19

"You never told me you'd been to Sanctuary before, Deacon."

"That's because I haven't  _officially_ been there."

They hunched over Jess's Pip-Boy, trying to read the map through the fat raindrops that kept blurring the screen. At least it was just a regular storm. Jess had suffered enough radiation storms on their way to the Commonwealth.

"Does that say 'Sanctuary' or 'Sausage' there, in the corner?" Deacon pointed.

"If there's a town called Sausage in the Commonwealth, I'm going back to D.C., because that would be the most ridiculous name I've ever heard."

"I'll see your Sausage Town and raise you a Megaton."

"At least Megaton is a cool name. Sausage is not a cool name."

Deacon gasped. "How dare you say that about my hometown?"

"If there _was_ a town called Sausage, you'd be the mayor of it."

"Mayor Sausage?" Deacon attempted to dry his sunglasses on the corner of his soaking wet t-shirt. "I kinda like it."

It was still weird to see Deacon's eyes, but Jess was growing used to it, and used to Deacon in general. It had been a strange couple of weeks. Jess could usually tell if she would like a person within a few minutes of meeting them. Deacon was the exception. Jess had harbored some serious doubts about the man she knew briefly as Ryan, but he turned out to be the most entertaining and intelligent person Jess had met in a long time. Plus, Dog seemed to like him, and Jess tended to trust Dog's judgment.

"Anyway, that's definitely Sanctuary on the map." Jess exhaled, blinking rain from her eyes. "Looks like an hour's walk from here. What do you think? Keep pressing on, or find some shelter?"

Deacon squinted up at the clouds. "I say we keep going. Not like we can get much wetter."

"Yeah, all right, but if we catch a cold I'm blaming you." Jess turned up her collar and shivered.

 

Jess had been expecting a city, like Megaton or Rivet City, but Sanctuary was more of a... street.

"I guess Nora called it a settlement," Jess said, surveying the cluster of houses. The buildings were certainly well-kept, and the humming of generators indicated that they were wired for electricity, so that was something.

The sun was setting and the rain had not abated, which explained the lack of people outside. Once they walked further up the street, Jess saw a warm glow coming from one of the houses.

Jess gestured toward the house. "Shall we?"

Deacon nodded. "Maybe they'll give us some food. And beds. We can meet a couple of ladies, even."

"And here I thought I was travelling with a gentleman."

"A couple of gentlemen would also be acceptable."

"Hmm. I'll pass on that one."

A garage was attached to the side of the house. Workbenches, a power armor rack, and shelves full of scrap materials lined the walls. A cluster of empty chairs circled around a tiny wooden table.

Jess approached the door to the house. Voices carried from one of the windows outside. She knocked. The voices quieted, and they heard footsteps treading to the door.

"Who's there?" someone called from the other side.

"We're friends of Nora," Jess said.

The door opened. A man in a strangely-shaped cowboy hat and a tan jacket blocked the light from the room. He scrutinized Jess and Deacon for a moment.

"You know Nora?" he finally asked. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Jess relaxed. "She sent us here for your help. Are you Sturges?"

"No, the name's Preston. Commonwealth Minuteman. What do you mean, Nora sent you here? Are you from one of our settlements?" Preston lifted a hand before Jess could respond. "Sorry, how rude of me. It's raining. Please come inside."

Preston moved aside to let them pass. Jess and Deacon were greeted by a half dozen people crowded into a small living room, sitting on beat-up couches and drinking beer.

"You caught us during a get-together. Normally there aren't this many people here," Preston said. "Sturges is actually sleeping now. Is it urgent? I can wake him up."

Jess shook her head. "It can wait. We just..." She looked to Deacon for help.

"Do you have a place we might be able to spend the night?" Deacon finished for her.

"Oh, certainly," Preston said. He turned to a redheaded woman sitting on one of the couches. "Cait, you've got an empty room across from yours, right? Would you be able to show them where it is?"

"Ach, and go out in the rain?" Cait complained. She lifted a bottle in their direction. "And how come you're assuming they don't want a drink, Preston?"

Preston spread his hands out in acquiescence. "You're right. Would you two like a drink?"

Jess was about to refuse, but then considered the fact that she hadn't had a real drink in months. She glanced at Deacon, who offered her a thumbs-up. "Uh, yeah, sure, we'll have a drink."

 

"So there we were, in this little tiny office, with raiders waiting on one side and Gunners on the other." Piper Wright gestured dramatically, sloshing her beer. She was nearly shouting over the sound of Diamond City Radio. "And Nora tells me that we have only one grenade left. So we throw it out the door on the Gunners' side, because _obviously_ , and then nothing happens. It was a dud!" 

"And then what happened?" asked the ghoul named Hancock, his tricorn hat at a rakish angle. "Did they get ya?"

Piper made a face. "Yeah, Hancock, they got us. I'm a ghost now."

"Stop interrupting the story," Cait whined.

"The grenade was a dud," Piper continued. "So we thought we were done for. But then Strong bursts into the building, fists... blazing? Can fists blaze?"

Hancock grinned. "You're the writer."

"Anyway, it turns out that he was worried about us going there by ourselves and decided to follow us."

Jess tuned in and out of the story, her head buzzing pleasantly. She was squished between Deacon and Preston on one of the sofas, feeling snug and comfortable. Dog slept at her feet. How could Nora have left this place? Sanctuary may not have looked like much from the outside, but weren't friends all a person really needed? Especially altruistic friends like these.

Cait eventually showed a tipsy Jess and Deacon to an empty room lined with clean cots. Jess collapsed onto one of the beds, sighing contentedly.

"I like it here," she murmured into the mattress.

Deacon chuckled. "I can tell."

"Deacon?" Jess turned her head to see him.

"Yeah?"

"I'm so glad I came with you."

"Just wait." Deacon shed his t-shirt and slumped into another cot. "You'll see Railroad headquarters and be like, 'Am I in paradise?' We've got like, seven chandeliers. A butler. Foie gras."

Jess snorted. "Look, I know it's not going to be fancy. I don't care. You're doing important work."

"We try."

 

Sturges turned out to be a stocky man with gravity-defiant hair. A wrench stuck out of the bib pocket of his oil-stained overalls.

"Preston tells me you need my help," he said, looking up from his workbench. "What can I do for you?"

A set of blueprints was spread out on the table, but Jess couldn't figure out what they were supposed to be depicting.

"I have a note for you." Jess rummaged in her bag and pulled out the page from the  _Boston Bugle_. "It's from Nora."

Sturges's eyes scanned the note a few times. "You need that chip to build another teleporter? Is this a joke?"

"It's not... Sorry."

Sturges folded up the note and pocketed it. "The Minutemen have been dying to send someone back to the Institute, but we don't have enough support to do it. Why do  _you_  want to get inside?"

Deacon's forehead creased as if he was in deep thought. He finally said, "We work for the Railroad. I'm pretty sure we want the same thing as you."

Jess gaped at Deacon.

Sturges was equally surprised. "Well, hot damn. Does Nora know you're Railroad?"

"She does."

"And she didn't come back with you?"

Jess shrugged uneasily. "She's going through a tough time."

Sturges rolled up the blueprints. "MacCready and Valentine still with her?"

Jess nodded.

Sturges whistled. "At least there's that. Well..." He planted his hands on his hips and examined the note again. "If the Railroad doesn't object, looks like I'll be building another teleporter."

 

"I can't believe you told him about the Railroad," Jess hissed once they were back in their room, sharing a bag of potato chips.

"There's a reason for that," Deacon said. "Sturges is a synth."

Jess dropped a potato chip. "He is?"

"Yeah, but I doubt he knows it. The Railroad wipes the memories of a lot of the synths we rescue. It's easier that way, and a lot safer for the synths. I remember this guy. We rescued him from the Institute a few years ago. Gave him a new set of memories, and sent him on his way." Deacon crunched on a chip. "In any case, I think the time for secrecy in Sanctuary has passed. They're on our side. Anti-Institute, anti-Brotherhood. All the good stuff."

"Wait, the Brotherhood? As in the Brotherhood of Steel?"

"That's the one."

"What's wrong with the Brotherhood?"

Deacon lowered his sunglasses to the bridge of his nose, examining Jess with pale blue eyes. "I forget that you're not from around here. Let's see... The Brotherhood wasn't so bad before Maxson. But now? They're the biggest group of racist assholes you've ever seen."

Jess inhaled sharply. "That's not the Brotherhood I knew. They haven't been much of anything in the Capital for the past ten years, but they'd never be... They weren't like that."

Deacon sighed and stood up. He brushed crumbs from his jeans. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news." He offered a smile. "Come on, let's go help these jolly townspeople garden or something. We'll go to Railroad headquarters tomorrow, and you'll get to see a  _real_ brotherhood."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: alcohol/drug use

_Play the guitar, play it again, my Johnny._   _Maybe you're cold, but you're so warm inside_ _._

MacCready swatted at Nora's Pip-Boy from where he was sitting in the dirt. "Please turn it off, Nora, I'm begging you. I'm already sick of this song."

"We heard it for the first time this morning," Nora said, but she switched the radio to a bluesy station. "Better?"

"No." Mac wiped a sleeve across his forehead. "It's too hot."

They were taking a midday rest at what appeared to be an abandoned military camp. A fading sign at the entrance declared the place to be called Bitter Springs, the image of a two-headed bear painted underneath. Wind-battered trailers and collapsed tents littered the area. Disregarding Mac's feeble protests, Duncan sprinted from one side of the camp to the other, occasionally showing them something interesting he had found.

Jim snorted at Mac and adjusted one of the straps holding up the brahmin's cargo. The creature flicked its tail in irritation, flies buzzing around its heads.

"We're in the desert in August, MacCready," Jim said. "What did you think it would be like?"

Mac ignored this. "How long until we're where we need to be?"

Jim pulled a tattered paper map out of his pocket and stared at it for a moment before turning to Nora. "You got a fancy computer on your arm. Why don't you tell us?"

Nora drained a bottle of water and squinted at her wrist. "What's it called again?"

"The Lucky 38 Casino."

"Give me a second."

Nick had been scavenging like Duncan, albeit more purposefully. He returned with an armful of stimpacks and a first aid kit. "Found these in the doctor's tent."

MacCready stood to help Nick distribute the stimpacks between their bags.

"It's not too much further from here," Nora said finally, tapping at her Pip-Boy. "Maybe an hour." She glanced at Jim. "We're taking a shipment of electrical equipment to a _casino_?"

Jim shrugged. "I just deliver. I don't ask questions."

 

\--

 

Mari punched the wall in the foyer of her presidential suite. Plaster crumbled down into the carpet.

"He's an evil sack of shit!" she screamed, aiming a kick at the wall. A fucking  _dictator_!"

The prostitute from Gomorrah stared at her with wide, panicked eyes. He hadn't even undressed. He had come up on the elevator just in time to witness Mari's assault on the wall. "Should I... come back later?"

Mari clenched her fists. Her head swum with whiskey and a cocktail of chems she'd purchased from a street vendor in Freeside. "Sorry, I forgot you were coming." Mari looked down at her hands blearily, and back up at the man. "I'm not normally... like this. It's his fault." She sneezed and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "What's your name?"

"It's Paolo." He seemed taken aback at the assertion of his own name. "But you can call me whatever you want, ma'am."

Paolo was a tall man with kind blue eyes. He smelled like Gomorrah, like booze and sweat lurking under heady perfumes. Under any other circumstance...

"I'm not a bad person, Paolo." Bitter tears sprung to Mari's eyes. "I'm not a killer." She sniffed. "I mean, I've killed people. But who hasn't?"

"I haven't," Paolo offered tentatively.

"Then you're one of the good ones." Mari patted him on the back with a plaster-caked hand. 

Paolo flinched. "Are you okay, ma'am?"

Mari leaned into the wall and slowly slunk down into a sitting position. "Does it matter?"

Paolo was silent.

"I changed my mind about, you know, all this." Mari kneaded her forehead. "I'm too fucked up right now. You should leave. But here." She dug into her pockets and thrust a handful of caps at Paolo. "Take them anyway."

Paolo didn't protest, and soon he was gone.

Nausea forced Mari to lie down on the floor, inhaling plaster dust from the carpet. Her knuckles were bleeding.

Mr. House had summoned Mari to the penthouse that morning, earlier than usual. Victor had woken Mari by knocking at the door of the presidential suite with his metal claw of a hand.

"Mick and Ralph's has been selling fake passports to enter the Strip," Mr. House had told her in clipped, emotionless tones once she had stumbled into the penthouse. "You understand why I cannot tolerate that."

"What?" Mari had croaked. She had just woken up, hadn't even had time to put on regular clothes.

"Do you know what I need you to do, Miss Lopez?"

Mr. House's first requests for murder had been practical. Wiping out the Brotherhood of Steel made sense. But Mick and Ralph were harmless. They sold weapons, sure, but so did the Van Graffs, and Mr. House didn't give a shit about the Silver Rush. And who the hell cared about passports, anyway?

Mari wouldn't do it. She would have to fake it, just like Fred Williams' death. Just like the death of the Brotherhood.

 

\--

 

"To get into the Strip, you must submit to a credit check of two thousand caps or present your passport before proceeding to the gate. Trespassers will be shot."

The cartoon policeman face on the robot's screen might have been funny on its own, but set inside the hulking mental body before them, it made Nora's mouth go dry.

"We're just making a delivery," Jim said, pointing to the overloaded brahmin.

"To get into the Strip, you must submit to a credit check of two thousand caps or present--"

"All right, we get it." Mac spun around to face Jim. "None of us have a passport," he hissed as if the robot wouldn't be able to hear him.

Nora felt inside her pockets and began to count out the caps in her hand. She didn't know why; there was no way she had any more than two hundred on her person.

"I have the caps. How'd you think I was gonna pay you?" Jim scowled and pushed them aside to get to the robot. "Here you go." He handed the robot a bulging canvas bag. "There's gotta be at least two thousand in there... Uh, we get these back, right?"

The robot weighed the bag in a hand made up of three thick prongs. "This is sufficient." It handed the bag back to Jim. "Please enjoy your visit to the New Vegas Strip."

Mac blinked at Nora. "You're gonna think I'm going nuts, but I forgot Jim was paying us."

"MacCready forgot about getting paid? The world must be ending again," Nick said as he passed them.

 

\--

 

For the second time that day, Mari was awoken by a securitron pounding on the door to her suite. This time it was Jane.

"Miss, Mr. House requests your presence outside the Lucky 38," Jane said from the other side of the door.

Mari lifted herself off the floor. The carpet had pressed a pattern into her cheek. "Why can't Victor do it?"

"He's already outside."

"Then why does Mr. House need me?"

"It's a delivery. Someone needs to pay them, sugar. Victor doesn't have any pockets."

"Sounds like a design flaw." Mari wobbled to her feet. "Wait, did you say it was a delivery? We just got one yesterday."

"Yes, sugar."

"What's he building with all this stuff?"

"I'm afraid I don't know."

 

\--

 

The cowboy robot, Victor, hummed a tune as they waited for their payment. Standing on the steps of the Lucky 38 Casino, Nora couldn't stop gaping at her surroundings. She and Nate had gone to Las Vegas early in their relationship, before Nate had joined the military. Not a fan of gambling, Nora hadn't liked it much, but now, after living amid rubble, New Vegas was awe-inspiring, all lights and music and revelry.

"So, uh..." Nick addressed Victor. "Which, uh, model are you?"

"I'm a RobCo Securitron, friend," Victor said. "What model are you? I can't say I've ever seen anything like you before!"

Nick was spared from answering this question when a woman stepped outside of the casino, appraising them with tired, bloodshot eyes. She wore a stained pair of overalls over a long-sleeved shirt, a fanny pack around her waist. Half of her dark hair was shaved, the skin under the shaved section sunburned a dark pink.

"Well, howdy, Mari," Victor crowed. "We've got another shipment here for Mr. House. I just need you to pay these fellas here so we can send them on their way."

"Yeah, Jane told me." Her voice was hoarse. "How much?"

"One thousand caps," Jim said quickly before Victor could answer.

"Sounds right to me," Victor agreed.

"You okay with pre-war money?" Mari asked. "It's lighter."

"Caps," Jim insisted.

"Your choice." Mari produced a lumpy bag of caps from the fanny pack and handed it to Jim. "Don't spend it all in one place." She cracked a smile that transformed her whole face from sullen to amiable. "New Vegas can do that to you."

Mari winked, then noticed Nick. Her eyes very obviously trailed up and down his body. Nick always drew attention due to his appearance, but this woman was not even bothering to hide her interest like the people who snuck peeks at Nick when they thought he wasn't looking. At least Mari didn't look repulsed, merely intrigued.

"Miss Lopez," Victor said, but his voice was different, deeper and sterner. Nora started. The image on the securitron's screen had changed from a cowboy to a man's face. The face looked familiar in a way Nora couldn't place, and she was suddenly deeply uncomfortable.

Mari jumped to attention. "Mr. House?"

"Why don't you offer these travelers a room for the night?" asked the smooth voice emanating from the robot. "They're most likely exhausted."

Mari gaped at the securitron. "Are you joking?"

"You wound me, Mari. I simply want to offer some hospitality to our guests."

Mari stared at the caravan party open-mouthed, then finally shrugged. "Well, all right, then. Ya'll want a room for the night? Hell, we have dozens of rooms. Take your pick."

Nora shook her head. This place was giving her the creeps. But before she could say so, Mac said, "Yeah, sure."

And really, Nora had no reason to refuse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a brand new Tumblr just for Fallout stuff, up-and-atom-cats.tumblr.com. Feel free to talk to me!


	21. Chapter 21

Jess walked around the teleporter in a circle, a half-eaten mutfruit in her hand. The towering machine had Jess too spellbound to notice the mutfruit juices running down her arm.

Sturges beamed at the teleporter as a parent would his child. "Took less than two months for us to build this one," he said proudly. "You know how long the first one took to make? Four months. And this one is bigger. At this rate, I can start knocking these out weekly."

Deacon sat in the grass with a grin on his face, wearing a ushanka hat in spite of the oppressive heat. "Excellent work, pal. The Railroad is in your debt."

In truth, Deacon had contributed to the teleporter almost as much as Sturges had, albeit in more menial ways. Over the past few weeks, Jess could have looked out her window at any hour of the day to see the two men working. Jess was less technically adept than either of them, so she contributed by helping the Minutemen and the Railroad with whatever they needed. Sometimes this involved simple chores like watering tatos or washing bedsheets, while other times Desdemona or Preston tasked her with more serious duties and Jess would deal with raiders or usher escaped synths to safehouses. Jess thrived on the work, throwing herself headlong into both organizations with fervor. She fell into her bed each night exhausted but filled with purpose.

"What do you think about making our way to headquarters to tell Desdemona?" Deacon asked Jess, still lounging on the grass. "Sturges, I assume it'll take the Minutemen a few days to get ready?"

Sturges nodded. "Yeah, probably a day or two."

"All right. We'll bring Dez and the others up here tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good."

Jess and Deacon headed to their bedroom to pack. They had ended up permanent residents of the room across from Cait's, and Jess had been surprised by how much she enjoyed having a roommate. Sometimes she and Deacon would stay up late and play games on Jess's Pip-Boy, or read comic books to each other with different voices for each character. As it turned out, Jess and Deacon were also both slobs, and the bedroom floor was currently hidden under piles of clothing, various wigs, and an assortment of guns. 

"Dez is going to be  _pumped_ ," Deacon said, jamming several identical t-shirts into his backpack. "I can't wait to see the look on her face when we tell her."

"You know what I can't wait for?" Jess asked, kicking aside a pillow in search for her helmet. "Seeing what happens when you and Sturges don't have the teleporter to distract you from all that sexual tension."

Deacon sputtered, which was exactly the reaction Jess had been hoping for.

"Ha! I knew it."

"You know nothing, vault girl."

Jess just laughed.

Deacon glanced between two wigs before choosing a blond shaggy one to pack. "But being serious here, I couldn't." 

"Couldn't ask him out? Why not?"

"Because he's a synth," Deacon said forcefully. Jess stared at him in surprise.

Deacon took a deep breath. "Not  _because_ he's a synth, but because I _know_ he's a synth, and he doesn't. It's not right. It's not... ethical."

"Ethical? That's hilarious, coming from you." For almost a week, Deacon had convinced Jess that he himself was a synth. Jess had refused to speak to him for an entire day after finding out he wasn't. "Anyway, you could always tell him."

"Tell him that he's a synth?" Jess could sense Deacon's eye-roll from behind his sunglasses. "'Hey, Sturges, by the way, none of your memories are real. Haha. So, wanna go on a date?'"

"Tell him without being an asshole about it."

"I just--" Deacon stopped, frustrated, and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. "No more talking about this, please. How about some music for the road?"

 

 

 

Railroad HQ was in chaos when they arrived, agents dashing about with arms full of stimpacks and guns. Drummer Boy noticed Jess and Deacon come in and hustled them to a corner of the room.

"We've got intel on an incoming Brotherhood attack," Drummer Boy told them, his voice trembling. "We're clearing out right now. We can't have another Switchboard."

"What?" Deacon cried. "How did they find us?"

"Does it matter?" Drummer Boy asked. "Come on, help us."

Jess's heart thudded as she scooped up some of Tinker Tom's folders off his desk and shoved them into her bag. She wasn't really sure what she was supposed to be doing, but she figured Tom's work was important and couldn't fall into Brotherhood hands.

"Where's Tom?" Jess asked Desdemona when she passed by.

"What? Who?" Desdemona asked hurriedly before registering what Jess had said. "Tom? He and Glory are stealing the vertibird."

"Whose vertibird?"

"Questions later." Desdemona strode to the front of the room. "All right everyone," she shouted. "Once you've gathered everything you need, follow me to the escape tunnel. Let's go, let's go!"

An agent emerged from the escape tunnel entrance behind Desdemona's desk, blood running down her forehead. "Brotherhood in the tunnels!" she shrieked. "They're coming, Dez!"

At that moment, the entire headquarters shook, dust falling from the loosened bricks. Jess lost her balance and had to grip Deacon's shoulder for support.

"That would be the booby trap in the tunnels," Drummer Boy said.

"Shit." Desdemona gripped her hair with both hands, her forehead creased in thought. "Okay, it's gotta be the catacombs, then. Catacombs, everyone! Let's move!"

They poured out into the catacombs in a mass. Jess was one of the first out, and heard the whir of energy weapons from behind her. She whipped around to see Drummer Boy collapse.

"Deacon," Jess shouted, gesturing to Drummer Boy.

They backtracked and each grabbed one of Drummer Boy's arms, lifting him to his feet. He was coughing blood.

"Help me," he croaked.

"We've got you," Jess said, struggling to situate her laser rifle in her free hand. She made sure all of the Railroad agents had evacuated HQ, then directed a few shots through the open door. Answering beams of light whizzed past her head.

"Hurry up!" Desdemona yelled from ahead, a pinned grenade in her hand.

Deacon and Jess shuffled ahead as fast as they could with Drummer Boy between them. Desdemona bit the pin off the grenade and lobbed it through the doorway into HQ. The force from the blast loosened some stones from the ceiling; one missed hitting Jess by an inch.

A man in Brotherhood power armor burst into the catacombs, dragging one leg behind him. Jess pushed Drummer Boy into Deacon's arms so she had two hands for her gun. She fired in the soldier's direction, trying to ignore her familiarly with the insignia on the man's armor. The man wasn't wearing a helmet, and he fell.

"Jess, come on," Deacon urged, struggling to carry Drummer Boy on his own. Drummer Boy's breath rattled in his throat. Jess looped one of Drummer Boy's shoulders over her own and they took off down the tunnels.

The Brotherhood of Steel had underestimated the Railroad, only leaving two soldiers to guard the church. They had already been taken care of by the time Jess and Deacon emerged from the catacombs.

"What's that noise?" Deacon asked.

Jess tilted her head, and then she heard it, a whooshing that was getting closer and closer to the church.

"It's a vertibird," she said, recognizing the sound from years past. Panic flooded her, and she almost let go of Drummer Boy. "There's more of them."

Desdemona's face lit up. "No, it's  _our_ vertibird." She turned to the panting group of Railroad agents that had gathered. "Everyone, we're getting on the vertibird. Quickly, now. There may still be Brotherhood in the tunnels."

It was a miracle Tinker Tom and Glory had flown the vertibird all the way from the Cambridge Police Station. Tom was sweating, cursing to himself as he fiddled with the controls, the vertibird jerking back and forth as it hovered in the air. Tom finally managed to land the vertibird, and the dozen or so Railroad agents packed themselves in, hands grabbing onto every possible surface. The vertibird tilted slightly as they took off, but it leveled itself out once they rose.

Overcome with nausea, Deacon had to crouch on the floor. Jess was still supporting Drummer Boy on her shoulder. He was breathing with difficulty and turning a startling shade of white.

"Where are we going?" Tom shouted over the din of the vertibird's blades.

Desdemona hesitated.

"Sanctuary?" Jess suggested, glancing down at the ground far below them. Her stomach dropped.

"We can't put them at risk," Deacon said from the floor. "Take us to Vault 111. You can only get in with a Pip-Boy, so it's more secure."

"Fly it to Vault 111," Desdemona yelled to Tom. "It's northwest from here."

 

 

Tom landed the vertibird behind a clump of trees near Vault 111. They had not seen anyone following them in the air, and even if someone observed their route from the ground, Deacon was right: you couldn't get into a vault without a Pip-Boy. This afforded them some time.

Once they were inside the vault, Dr. Carrington rushed Drummer Boy into a room with a bed. Everyone else waited in what looked like an employee break room. Some agents sat down on couches and stared straight ahead, stunned. Glory, ever resilient, had discovered some sort of gun in a clear safe, and was trying to break it open with a crowbar. Jess had spent her youth in a vault, and she didn't find underground spaces to be oppressing the way some people did. Still, Vault 111 set her nerves on edge.

"So this is where Nora spent two hundred years," Deacon mused, taking a seat at one of the tables. A deck of cards was spread out in a long-abandoned game of Solitaire. Deacon began to play.

"Yep," Jess said. She felt guilty about telling Jess's story to Deacon, but he hadn't seemed surprised by any of the information, leading Jess to believe he knew more about Nora than he let on.

"Should we check out the freezers?" Deacon suggested, his voice light.

"Nora's husband died there," Jess said, not looking at him.

"Shit, you're right. Sorry."

Desdemona emerged from the bathroom with her hair pulled back. Her cheeks were red as if she had scrubbed her face. "I know we're all in a little bit of shock right now," she said, addressing everyone in the room. "However, we need to mobilize before the Brotherhood can do anything else."

"What should we do?" asked a Railroad agent.

"I think that's fairly obvious," Desdemona replied. "We need to destroy the Prydwen. The Brotherhood attacked us, and now we're retaliating. This is war."

"Dez," Jess said, suddenly remembering. "We didn't have time to tell you, but the teleporter is ready in Sanctuary."

Desdemona fixed her eyes on Jess. "That will have to wait, agent. Right now, the Brotherhood of Steel is our biggest threat."

"Right. Of course."

"Does anyone know how Drummer Boy is?" Tinker Tom asked.

Glory paused her assault on the safe to listen to Desdemona's response.

"I don't know any more than you do," Desdemona said. "He was shot in the lung. We just have to hope for the best."

"When are we attacking?" an agent asked.

"As soon as possible." Desdemona rubbed her temples. "We'll take a few hours to rest. The question now becomes who we send to the Prydwen. If we're taking the vertibird, we'll want to look like Brotherhood soldiers, and we only have one or two uniforms."

"I'm coming," Glory said quickly. "No uniform required."

"We want to have stealth on our side, Glory."

"Fine. I'll wear the uniform."

Desdemona cleared her throat. "Tom, are you good to fly the vertibird there?"

"Sure am, Dez."

"Anyone else want to come?"

Deacon raised a hand. "You think you're going without me? Not a chance. Where would you get your comic relief?"

"Okay, Deacon and Glory, with Tom on the plane. I think that's enough." Desdemona turned to Jess. "I have a job for you, too. I don't like the idea of leaving the teleporter unprotected."

"But it's not," Jess protested. "Sturges and Preston are there, and a bunch of other people."

"Let me rephrase: I don't like the idea of the teleporter being protected by non-Railroad. I want you to return to Sanctuary and keep an eye on things, make sure everything is ready for our arrival there."

"I... okay. I can do that. And I'll leave you my Pip-Boy, so you can get in and out of the vault."

Desdemona smiled. "Greatly appreciated. Are you ready to go right now?"

"Right this second?" Jess asked in surprise. She stood up, looking around at the other agents. "Sure. I'll, uh, head there now. I just..."

She met Deacon's shaded eyes and suddenly felt tears well up in her own. Deacon rose to his feet, and Jess met him head-on, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Be safe," she choked out. "You're my best friend here."

Deacon's breath hitched almost imperceptibly. "You're my only friend anywhere," he whispered.

 

 

The sun had set by the time Jess left the vault. Her wrist felt naked without the Pip-Boy; she couldn't stop rubbing her skin. Jess wanted desperately to turn back and beg Desdemona to let her on the mission, but she also knew a lost cause when she saw it, so she pushed toward Sanctuary in the dark.

The teleporter stood exactly where she had left it. Jess sighed and retreated to her bedroom, flopping on her bed.

Cait appeared in the doorway, Dog and Dogmeat flanking her with wagging tails. "Hey. Where's Sunglasses?"

"He had to do some things," Jess answered vaguely. Dog hopped up on the bed beside her.

"Piper wanted me to ask if you'd do an interview with her," Cait said. "No fair, that. She never wants to interview me."

Jess sat up, accidentally pushing Dog off the bed. "Tell her I will."

Cait nodded. "Mind if I come in?" She didn't wait for a response, and sat down on Deacon's bed. "Preston and I are goin' away for a little bit. He's gonna take me somewhere to get clean."

"Oh." Jess couldn't think of anything more to say.

"Yeah, I know. Guess we'll see how it turns out."

"Well, good luck."

Cait smiled and moved to leave.

"Hey, Cait. Which direction is the Prydwen from here?" Jess asked.

Cait cocked an eyebrow, thought about it for a second, then pointed out the window. "I dunno why you're askin', but it's southeast."

Once Cait had left, Jess sat in front of the window and stared in the direction of the Prydwen, waiting for the fireworks.


	22. Chapter 22

The summer after Nora graduated high school, she trained to be a lifeguard at the YMCA. That was where she met Nate. After classes, they would hang out at the snack bar and he would buy her sticky ice cream sandwiches that dripped down her wrists.

Nate was an excellent lifeguard for the same reasons he eventually became an excellent soldier. Nora, however, never got certified. She was fine with swimming laps, and she picked up CPR easily enough, but she could never stand diving into the deep pool. One day, they were tasked with fetching a brick from the bottom of the pool. Nora swam halfway there and panicked, splashing back to the surface with chlorine in her eyes. It was the pressure that did it, the immense weight that pushed down on her the further down she swam. It suffocated her. 

The same feeling pervaded the Lucky 38.

The Lucky 38 casino must have been beautiful at one point, but now the sprawling room felt claustrophobic. Everything was dusty and dim. Stacked haphazardly on the counters were piles of pre-war money and poker chips. Some of the chairs around the blackjack tables had been toppled over at some point and never set back up.

"Where is everyone?" Nick asked.

Mari turned back to look at him as she led them to the elevators. "The Lucky 38 hasn't been operational for a while. That's how Mr. House likes it."

Nora wanted to ask why they needed a shipment of electrical equipment if the casino wasn't operational, but she kept quiet.

Mari directed them into the elevator. "I'll show you to some rooms. How many do you need? Four?"

"I'll share with someone," Nora said quickly. The only thing worse than spending the night here would be spending it alone. "Nick?"

"Sure, doll."

The rooms were the same as the rest of the casino, opulent but unkempt. Mari offered them three rooms in a row, with Jim on the left, Nora and Nick on the right, and MacCready and Duncan in the middle.

"There's a cocktail lounge you can hang out in," Mari told them, hanging back in the hallway while they examined their rooms. "It's pretty nice. Good view."

Mari was looking more awake than a few minutes past, and Nora noted that the woman was really quite pretty, albeit in an unconventional way. Mari looked like the girls Nora's mom wouldn't let her be friends with when she was a teenager, the kind of girls who smoked and drank and had sex and did other things Nora's mother disliked. But there was a tiredness in Mari's face, too, a trace of frown lines at the corners of her lips.

"We can get you some dinner up there," Mari continued. "In any case, I'll be there if you want to join." She made to leave, then hesitated. "But there are a lot better places on the Strip. If you won't be in New Vegas long, I'd check out some of the other casinos. The Lucky 38 is boring as hell."

"Thanks for the tip, but we're pretty beat," Mac said. "It'll be nice to have a decent bed for a change."

"Speak for yourself," Jim said, emerging from his room with a pouch full of caps. "I'm going gambling."

Mari pushed up her sleeves, revealing heavily tattooed arms. "How long do you think you'll be staying here?" She scratched at one of the tattoos. "One night? Two nights?"

"I think just one night," Nora said.

Mari looked relieved. "Okay. Well, see you in the lounge, maybe."

Once Mari had taken the elevator upstairs, Nora exhaled a long breath. "I don't like it here."

"But free rooms," Mac exclaimed, patting Nora on the shoulder. He turned around and scowled. "Do  _not_ jump on the beds, Duncan."

 

 

Jim left to visit some place called The Tops. Having nothing better to do, and getting hungry, the rest of them took the elevator to the cocktail lounge. Unlike the rest of the the Lucky 38, the circular lounge was bright and airy, floor-to-ceiling windows allowing the late afternoon sunlight to stream inside. Nora finally let herself relax.

Mari sat at the bar with a beer in front of her. She lifted the bottle when they arrived. "You came!" she said. She pointed at one of the securitrons, whose screen displayed an image of a butler. "Hey, you. Bring us some food."

Duncan ran to one of the windows and pressed his nose against it. "Dad, look! You can see everything from up here!"

Mari chuckled and swiveled her bar stool toward the window. "If you can imagine it, kid, this whole room used to revolve."

Duncan looked at her in confusion. "What does 'revolve' mean?"

"It means turn around in a circle," MacCready said, joining Duncan at the window. "So the whole room would spin, really slowly." He shrugged. "At least, that's what I'm assuming."

"Don't look at me," Mari said. "It was way before my time."

Nora walked up to the window and stared down below. A couple of women in skimpy dresses were dancing in front of the building across the street.

Nick sat down on the bar stool beside Mari. "So what's the story with your boss?"

"Who, Mr. House?" Mari asked. "So you've never heard of him, then?"

"Should I have?"

Mari sipped her beer. "He's a big name around here. Owns most of the casinos on the Strip." She eyed Nick curiously. "Want a drink?"

"Afraid I can't, doll." Nick gestured vaguely to himself. "It's not really compatible with the whole system."

Mari grinned at this. "Yeah, no kidding. I have so many questions. Is that rude? Do you mind questions?"

"I don't mind them, but I can't shed too much light on myself," Nick said with a shrug. "It's all a bit of a mystery to me."

"What do you mean?"

Nora tried to gauge Nick's expression to see if she needed to intervene. Nick had been frank about his past to her, but that didn't mean he would be comfortable discussing it with a woman he'd just met.

Nick looked okay, however, and he said casually, "Well, doll, I'm afraid I have some files missing in the ol' memory folder."

Mari's eyes grew wide. "Me, too!" she exclaimed. She pushed aside the hair that lay across half her face. Nora craned her neck to see. Up near Mari's hairline was a deep purple scar, almost perfectly circular. "Got myself shot in the head a few years ago. Can't remember a fucking thing from before then."

"I'll be damned," Nick said.

The butler robot returned then with trays of food Nora had never heard of. Gecko steaks. Broc flowers. Banana yucca fruit. They ate ravenously, not having eaten a decent meal in weeks.

Mari offered them beers after dinner, but Nora could hardly keep her eyes open and excused herself to bed. MacCready and Duncan joined her, but Nick stayed in the lounge to talk to Mari.

As soon as Nora returned to her and Nick's room, the oppressive sense of diving into the deep pool returned. She nearly went to ask Mac if she could sleep in their room, at least until Nick came downstairs, but that was silly. She had taken down deathclaws and even a courser once; she wouldn't let herself be afraid of a  _building_.

But Nora couldn't sleep. The air in the room was hot and stuffy, and when Nora tried to open the window, it wouldn't budge. Eventually, she returned to the hallway to walk around for a bit in the cooler air.

She wasn't expecting Mac to be in the hallway. He was resting against the wall, smoking a cigarette.

"Hey. What's happening?" he asked.

"Can't sleep," Nora said. "I can't get my window open, and it feels like I'm suffocating." She leaned back against the ugly wallpaper. "Something's wrong about this place. Does that sound crazy? I've felt like that since we got here."

Nora realized she had forgotten to put her bra back on when Mac's eyes were suddenly very focused on her face and her face only. She crossed her arms casually.

"It's a little creepy, I guess," Mac admitted. "So Nick can't get the window open for you?"

"He's still in the lounge. Guess they hit it off."

Mac snorted. "Good for Nick."

"So what are you doing out here?"

"What does it look like?" Mac said with raised eyebrows, holding up his cigarette.

"I meant why aren't you asleep?"

"Yeah, I know what you meant. I'm just being a d-- a jerk." MacCready dropped the cigarette onto the carpet and crushed it under his shoe. "I'm not tired, I guess. Got a lot on my mind."

"Oh. Like what?"

"Just thinking," Mac said. "Hey, want me to take a crack at that window?"

"If you want to."

Mac had no luck opening it, either, although he tried valiantly. He plopped down onto the bed in frustration, breathing heavily. "Dumb window. Guess it wasn't meant to open."

Nora sat down next to him, and for a while, they just sat and breathed the stale air. Although the lights were off, the neon signs outside infused the room with a sickly glow.

"What next?" Mac asked suddenly. "Since we're done delivering the shipment."

Nora stared at her fingernails, which were glinting in the neon light. "I don't know," she said at length. "I really don't know. I kind of just want to keep moving. I don't feel like I belong in any one place, exactly. It's hard to explain."

Mac nodded.

Nora stretched her arms. "But that's no good for a kid, is it? They need stability. I think we should find a place to stay long term, for his sake."

Mac took a moment to respond. "Are you talking about Duncan?"

"Who else would I be talking about? Jim?"

"No, it's just..." Mac trailed off. "I wasn't sure you'd want to keep being with us. For the long term."

Nora's breath caught. "Are you serious?"

"Well, yeah," Mac said. "You're right. I do need to settle down with Duncan. I can't drag him around all over the place. I just thought you'd eventually want to go your own way so you could keep travelling. Which, I mean, if I didn't have a kid to worry about, I'd follow you to the ends of the earth, but as it is--"

Nora kissed him. Startled, Mac took a moment to respond, but in moments his hands were threading through her hair.

 

 

"You swore," Nora whispered. "Better not tell Duncan."

Mac snorted, jostling Nora's head on his chest. They were sweaty and it was becoming uncomfortably sticky, lying together like this in the heavy heat of the room, but Nora couldn't bring herself to move.

"I should go back to my room," Mac whispered. "Not that I'm one to, uh, leave right after, but Nick is going to be back any minute now."

But Nick wasn't back in a few minutes, or a few hours, and Nick still wasn't in the room when Nora woke alone in the morning. He wasn't in the lounge either, or the casino, or on the stairs outside the Lucky 38.

"Maybe he went gambling?" Victor suggested once Nora had woken everyone else in her panic.

"Not Nick," Nora insisted. "He would have at least told us."

Mari's eyes were red. "I promise, I didn't see him after he left the lounge," she said. "That was around two in the morning."

"Then where the hell is he?" Mac asked her, forgetting that Duncan was there.

Mari lifted her hands helplessly. Nora felt the pressure of the Lucky 38 bearing down on her heavier than before, and this time it was Nick at the bottom of the deep pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout-out to talkingtomyownbrain, vinegar-and-glitter, and WittyRose for their continual support on this fic!


	23. Chapter 23

“Too many geniuses,” Deacon said. “Never thought we'd have that problem.”

He and Jess were sitting at the table in the garage eating breakfast, watching Tinker Tom and Sturges shout at each other near the teleporter.

“I’m telling you, it won’t work,” Tom said. “Once what’s-her-name went to the Institute, they would have blocked the frequency on the courser chip she used.”

“So you’re saying we shouldn’t try?” Sturges threw up his hands.

“Oh, you can try,” Tom said. “But it won’t work.”

“Well, this would have been great to hear a long time ago."

“I would have told you if I had known,” Tom protested, but Sturges was marching away with clenched fists.

Deacon snorted and shook his head.

“Aren’t you worried?” Jess asked. She bit into a sweetroll. “That’s our only way into the Institute.”

“Me, worry?” Deacon asked, leaning back in his chair. “Nah. These braniacs will figure something out.”

Jess glanced over at him. Deacon had pretended to be eating for the past thirty minutes, but he had mostly rearranged the food on his plate.

“Hey, Deacon,” she said, keeping her voice soft. “I’m really sorry to hear about Drummer Boy. Dez told me last night. I should have said something earlier.

The change in Deacon’s face was so minute Jess thought she might have imagined it. “It’s a dangerous job,” he said evenly.

“Yeah, it’s dangerous,” Jess agreed, wiping her sticky hands on her jeans. “Doesn’t make it any less sad. You were closer to Drummer Boy than I was, but I know he was a good guy. I’m not afraid to say I miss him.”

"Afraid?" Deacon’s eyebrow lifted slightly. “What do you mean?"

“Nothing,” Jess said. “Just want you to know you can talk to me. I don’t bite.”

Deacon adjusted his black wig and pushed his sunglasses up on his nose. He might have been about to speak when Preston emerged from the house, his arms full of wooden planks.

“Where did Sturges go?” Preston asked. He was still limping from his trip to Vault 95 with Cait.

Deacon grinned. “He and Tom had a lovers’ quarrel, so he stormed away."

Preston groaned and headed toward the house Sturges shared with Marcy and Jun.

“You sure you’re okay?” Jess asked Deacon once Preston was out of earshot.

Jess decided that if Deacon said he was okay, she wouldn’t push him further. She would ignore the fact that ever since Deacon had gone to blow up the Prydwen, he kept his sunglasses on at all times, even at night, even when it was just the two of them. She would ignore the way he wouldn’t eat. She would try to forget about the muffled sobs she heard last night, so quiet they might have been the remnants of a dream.

“Just peachy,” Deacon said, and smiled.

So Jess left it at that.

 

Later that evening, Jess lay in bed with a comic book spread in front of her. She could hear Cait in the living room chatting with one of the Railroad agents.

It had been a week since the Brotherhood invasion of Railroad HQ, and Desdemona was still using Vault 111 as a base camp. Now that the Brotherhood was destroyed, finding a new headquarters didn’t seem as urgent. Desdemona allowed some of the claustrophobic Railroad agents to stay at Sanctuary, although she kept grumbling that she didn’t know what the difference was between a church basement and a vault. Deacon warned the agents in Sanctuary to keep Sturges’s synth status a secret, and so far, they had.

Jess didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until she woke to the sound of a bell. She lifted her head, the comic book pages sticking to her face.

“Hey Jess, ya hear that?” Cait called from the hallway. “There’s a meeting.”

“This late?” Jess said uneasily. She joined Cait outside.

Desdemona had called the meeting. She stood next to the bell with Sturges and Tinker Tom, who were apparently on speaking terms again. Once most of Sanctuary and the various Railroad agents had gathered, Sturges cleared his throat.

“So, we had a bit of a problem earlier,” he said. “Tom thinks that the teleporter might not work. The Institute might have blocked our chip’s signal after Nora used it. Tom and I have been trying to find another way in with the holotape data.”

"And we think we have it," Tom broke in excitedly. Sturges narrowed his eyes. "We looked through the data and found maps of their whole complex. There's an old tunnel that should lead right in there. It's designed to bring water to their reactor, and it's gotta be full of radiation, but it's a way!"

“And if there's a way, we're going to take it,” Desdemona said. “We'll try out this chip to see if it works, but if it doesn't, a few of us will take the tunnels and relay everyone else inside. This means we need to be _ready_. We’re going to try this tomorrow, so I need to know who’s coming. I know we’ve got Preston and Sturges from the Minutemen and Glory, Deacon, and Jess from the Railroad, and rest of the Railroad agents back at the vault. I think Mayor Hancock said he'd be interested. He'd be great to have if there's radiation."

“You also have the other Minutemen,” Preston added. "We're in this one hundred percent. And if there's radiation, maybe we can get Strong to come."

“Me, too," Cait volunteered. “I’ve always wanted to see inside that place.”

With that settled, Desdemona began hashing out plans until she realized everyone was too tired to listen.

"Bed time," she ordered. "But everyone needs to be back here at eight so we can divide the supplies."

 

"Can you sleep?" Jess whispered into the darkness a few hours later. She stared up at a tiny sliver of moon through a crack in the ceiling. Dog was resting at her feet, making the bed unbearably warm.

A long sigh emanated from the other side of the room.

"No, I can't sleep. My roommate keeps talking." Deacon laughed. "Just messing with you. What's up?"

"Just nervous, I guess. The idea of teleporting scares the shit out of me. Have you ever done something like this before?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm an old pro," Deacon said. "I used to teleport to work every day. I called it telecommuting."

Jess didn't get the joke, but she laughed anyway. "So why did you stop?"

"My machine broke. You'd be hard pressed to find a teleporter repairman around here."

"You know two of them now."

"Huh. Guess I do."

Jess turned onto her side. "Sturges kept asking about you when you were gone," she teased.

Deacon snorted. "I was only gone for two days. I didn't realize I was such a superstar."

"You are. Plus, blowing up the Prydwen was dangerous. We were worried."

"Wait, you told him about that?"

"Wasn't much of a secret," Jess said. "We could see the explosion from here."

"Oh."

"Just thought you'd be interested."

"I already told you how I feel about that."

Jess sighed. "But why? Sturges likes you, and you like him. It shouldn't matter if he's a synth. You're both good people and I think you'd be great together."

Deacon was quiet for so long that Jess thought he might have fallen asleep. Finally, he said, "I was married to a synth."

Jess bolted up. "You were married?"

"Yeah. Her name was Barbara. I didn't know she was a synth. Neither did she." Deacon's voice had changed from its usual smoothness. He was almost stuttering. "I was a real asshole when I was a kid. My dad wasn't in the picture, and when my mom died, I, uh, I joined a gang. Called ourselves the Deathclaws, thought we were tough shit. We did some really bad things. We harassed people we thought were synths. We, uh... got violent."

Jess swallowed. Her throat felt tight. "Was it that bad?"

"Jess, we killed someone." Deacon waited a moment, then continued when Jess didn't respond. "Synth or no, I still have his blood on my hands. I-I think about him every day. After that, I ran away and met Barbara, settled down, tried to forget about what a shitty person I am. But the Deathclaws found us, somehow. I don't know how. They killed her for being a synth, so I killed them. And  _that's_  why the Railroad recruited me. Not because I'm a good guy. Because I wasn't afraid to kill people."

"Deacon..."

"Just wanted you to know. I won't be mad if you don't want to be my friend anymore. I just needed you to understand why I can't get involved with Sturges. I'm everything wrong with the fucking Commonwealth and he deserves better. So do you... And so did Barbara."

Jess stood up, the bed frame creaking. She walked the short distance to Deacon's bed and sat down next to him. His body tensed.

"Dog is a good judge of character," she said. "And Dog loves you. She's never steered me wrong before."

Deacon emitted a sort of half laugh, half sob. "You shouldn't be okay with this."

"I'm not okay with what you did in the past, but that doesn't mean I can't be okay with who you are now."

Deacon exhaled shakily. "Thank you."

 

Just as Tom expected, the courser chip didn't work. Seven of them were crammed on the platform, Railroad and Minutemen, eyes closed, palms sweaty, waiting. Nothing happened.

Sturges kicked the control panel. "Damn it! All right, everyone, you can step off the platform."

Hancock was standing to Sturges's side, smoking something questionable. "Looks like you need me after all."

Desdemona nodded. "Glory, could you be responsible for taking Mayor Hancock and Strong through the tunnels? You three are the most resistant to rads."

"Be glad to," Glory said. "I need to shoot something soon or I'll go crazy."

"Strong follow Glory."

"Hey, Dez!" Deacon said. "What are the rest of us supposed to do while they're romping through the tunnels?"

"We're going to wait here  _patiently_ so that when Glory uploads the relay sequence, we'll be ready."

Glory cackled. "We'll be sure to take our time."

And they did. It wasn't until that evening that the first flash of blue appeared on the platform and transported Preston into the Institute.

"Get on the platform, now," Desdemona shouted. "We've got about a five minute window."

Jess scrambled to her feet from where she sat in the grass and stepped on the platform right when Deacon did. Jess felt her scalp tingle, every hair standing on end. Her stomach dropped like she was on an elevator. All she could see was a bright wall of white; Jess squeezed her eyes shut and when she opened them a second later, she was standing in a circular room filled with blinking lights. That was all Jess took in before a wave of nausea sent her to her knees.

"Oh, God," she hissed, clutching her stomach.

"Man, that was something else," Preston was saying to someone. He stood in the doorway between the circular room and a control room. He turned around when he heard Jess struggling not to vomit, and grinned hugely. "You made it!"

Deacon pulled Jess up by her arm. "Come on, vaultie, we gotta make room for everyone else."

Sturges and Tom appeared next, followed by Cait and a smattering of Railroad agents. People continued to flash into existence as Sturges took charge of the control room's computer.

Hancock, Glory, and Strong were already there, looking slimy and dazed, but alive. It was then Jess noticed the Gen 2 synth bodies lying on the floor.

"Did everyone make it? Good." Desdemona said once she had arrived. "We've got to hurry. They'll know we're here within minutes. We have a fusion pulse charge we need to place on the reactor. We'll detonate it remotely and it'll destroy the entire Institute. But be careful; our priority here is to save synths. We need to make sure to evacuate the innocents."

"Sturges and Tom, pull us back up as soon as we give the signal," Preston ordered.

"You got it, boss."

"Jess and Deacon, you know what to do?" Desdemona asked.

Jess nodded. Sturges had downloaded the Institute maps to her Pip-Boy. Deacon and her job was to locate the computer terminal they would use to send the evacuation signal.

"Let's do this!" Deacon exclaimed, and Jess took off after him.

They blew their cover almost instantly. In their tattered clothes, they stood out like bullseyes among the white-uniformed synths and scientists of the Institute. When one of the synths raised a laser pistol at her, Jess snapped into military mode and shot him through the head before his finger reached the trigger.

"Whoa," Deacon said. "Remind me not to mess with you."

Jess didn't respond. In her Brotherhood training, they had taught her to close off most of her mind during battle. There was combat, and nothing else, all personality and cares and worries locked away behind some sort of wall until the danger was gone. It terrified Jess when she came out of the fugue, but right now her only thought was getting Deacon and herself to the terminal.

"This way," Jess muttered, holding her arm up to look at the Pip-Boy's map. They ran up a flight of spiral stairs. Part of Jess's mind heard Cait's battle cry from below, but Jess didn't even look down.

"Found the reactor," Sturges' voice boomed from above them. "Looks like you need to get yourself to the Advanced Systems area. Only, well, it's locked. Deacon and Jess are already going to the Director's personal terminal, and looks like that's also the only terminal you can use to unlock the area. So, two birds."

"Got it," Jess shouted even though Sturges probably couldn't hear her. She led Deacon into an elevator that took them to a small room with a section partitioned off with a wall of glass. The room looked like a cage.

"This door," Jess said, the haze of battle fading. She pointed to the other side of the room. They stopped at a white and yellow door identical to all the other ones in the building. "This is it."

They burst into the room, the door sliding shut behind them. The Pip-Boy marker directed them up a short flight of stairs, which they took two at a time, freezing when they reached the top.

A man was lying in some sort of white, tube-shaped bed. The man looked nothing like Nora, was much darker in complexion and bearded, for that matter, but Jess could see it in his eyes: this was Shaun.

"Who are you?" he rasped. "I thought that despite our differences, my own mother would at least have the courtesy to wish her son goodbye before destroying his life's work."

Jess's nearly dropped her weapon on the nice clean tile floor. "Nora doesn't know we're here."

Deacon hurried to the terminal and began typing.

"Hmph," Shaun said. "And under what righteous pretense have you justified this atrocity?"

Jess stood there speechless. Deacon was too busy to help.

"Synths are people," Jess finally said. "I'm just doing what's right."

The Director sighed heavily. "I don't know who you are, but there is a holotape next to the terminal. I want you to give it to Nora. It will explain... everything. My only request is that you don't tell them what they really are."

"Tell who?"

"Just give my mother the holotape."

"I sent out the evacuation signal," Deacon said, turning away from the computer. "And unlocked Advanced Systems. We're good to go, Jess."

Jess nodded. "I'm sorry, Shaun," she said. "I want you to know that Nora loves you."

Jess didn't know if this were true, but she felt like she had to say something.

"Just leave," Shaun said.

 

The rest of the fighting passed by in a blur. If someone asked Jess later how many people she killed that day, she would not have been able to answer. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe it kept her from feeling any guiltier.

Her head pounded when they were teleported back into the relay control room. Some agents had already begun to teleport back to the surface.

"Hey, Jess, I need some help," Sturges said before she had the chance to disappear with them. "This... this kid showed up. I don't know what to do with him."

Jess whirled around. "What are you talking about?"

"Please, take me with you!" a small voice cried.

Jess suddenly noticed the child standing near the door. The dark-haired boy wearing the clean white jumpsuit looked to be ten or eleven. The child looked familiar to Jess, but she wasn't sure why.

"Of course you can come with us," Jess said, shrugging at Sturges. "What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Shaun."

Jess exchanged a glance with Deacon. "Okay, Shaun," she said. "Let's go home."


	24. Chapter 24

New Vegas oozed charm, but it was the false and tacky kind of charm, a veneer of charisma concealing the horrors of the Strip underneath. Mari could count on one hand the number of genuine people she had encountered on the New Vegas Strip.

She missed her friends. Lily, Boone, Cass, Raul. At least she saw Arcade and Veronica still. Boone was dead; the others had blown away like sand on the Mojave, or in Cass's case, refused to talk to Mari.

The elevator doors swept shut, leaving Mari alone in the tiny, enclosed space that somehow smelled of cigarettes so many years after the Lucky 38 had closed. As the elevator took Mari to the top of the Lucky 38, she thought of Nick Valentine.

Valentine was charming, in a real sort of way. They had stayed up late in the bar talking, and Mari had  _enjoyed_ it. She hadn't even been tipsy, hadn't needed to be. For all his synthetic body, Valentine was genuine in a sea of fake. Mari had drunk it up like she was parched.

And now Valentine was missing, and Mari suspected she might have had something to do with it.

The elevator _dinged_ Mari's arrival. Mari marched into the penthouse and pushed past Jane on the stairs. She hurried across the room until she reached the screen where Mr. House normally appeared.

The screen was static, but in front of it, a chair had been placed right up next to the computer. The person sitting in the chair had his back toward Mari, but she immediately recognized the dingy hat he was wearing. Relief flooded her body.

"Mr. Valentine," Mari exclaimed, stepping toward him. "We've been looking everywhere for you. Why the hell are you--"

Valentine stood up and Mari froze. Valentine was moving slowly, very slowly. He turned to face Mari as if he were unsure how to make his body work, his motions jerky and awkward. He fixed his yellow eyes on Mari.

"Mr. Valentine," Mari repeated, quieter. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Miss Lopez, hello."

Mari exclaimed wordlessly and took a step backward. "Mr. _House_?"

The low laugh of Robert House emanated from Nick Valentine's mouth. "I must admit that the body needs some upgrades. And it _has_ been a while since I've had a corporeal form I could move around in."

Mari gaped at him, small incoherent noises escaping her lips.

"Don't be afraid, Miss Lopez. It's just me." He tried to place a hand on her shoulder, but missed it by a few inches. Mari withdrew in horror.

"You can't do this," Mari cried once she regained control of her voice. "That's-- that's someone else's body."

"Two somebodies, in fact," Mr. House said. "There were _two_ personalities I had to override."

"You need to give the body back." Mari was taking small, slow steps backward, toward the stairs. "Why do you even need it? You can use any securitron on the Strip."

"Miss Lopez, I am aware of the burden I place on you daily," Mr. House said with a long-suffering sigh. "You have been an immense help to me, quite indispensable, but I have not been content with our arrangement as it is. I would like to do more, you see." He held up Valentine's skeletal hand to examine it. "I have been trying to create something like this for months. Each time, I was met with failure. A securitron doesn't account for... the little details. So when I saw my chance, I took it." He look back at Mari, his movements already smoother. "Would you kindly escort our guests from the casino?"

 

\---

 

After hours of searching for Nick, Mac realized he had lost track of Nora, too. In a panic, he brought Duncan with him to their hotel room and found Nora in the room next door. She was hovering over the side table and scribbling out a message on the end page of a pre-war book.

"Nora, what are you doing?" Mac neared her hesitantly. "Aren't we looking for Nick?"

"I'm writing to Jess," Nora muttered without lifting her pencil. "Or Hancock, Piper. Anyone. I'm sending this to Sanctuary. We need help."

Mac blinked at her "What are they going to do from that far away?" he asked.

Nora looked up from the paper with a bright fury in her eyes. Her bangs had fallen into her face. 

Mac sighed. "Sorry, Nora. Go ahead and write a note if it makes you feel better."

"They can _help_ , Mac. They have to help. We can't just leave without Nick. I..."

Nora burst into tears, and then Duncan, brave as he was, began crying. Mac scooped up Duncan and wiggled an arm free to loop around Nora's back, but he was feeling rather useless when Mari walked into the room.

"I need to tell you something," Mari said, her voice barely louder than a whisper.


	25. Chapter 25

The Mojave was hot, and hot meant sweat, and sweat meant the tiny shop called Mick and Ralph's was starting to stink. It wasn't that Mari minded the smell (she was used to a little sweat) but Nora was looking woozy. The poor woman kept clutching MacCready's shoulder as if she were about to keel over.

 

Mari had been forced to hurry the guests out of the Lucky 38 the day before. Jim had left New Vegas with his caravan, while the rest of their dwindling party spent the night in a shack outside of Freeside. Mari wouldn't forget the stares they gave her when she left them to return to the Lucky 38, promising she would be back the next day. They blamed her for what happened to Nick, Mari realized. Well, fuck it, she blamed herself, too.

Mari headed home to a casino once again devoid of human life save herself and the withering corpse of Mr. House hidden somewhere within the walls. Nick Valentine's spirit seemed to hang in the air like a gas. Mari could have sworn she saw flashes of him every time she turned a corner. Mr. House had barred her from entering the penthouse, but the mechanical noises Mari could hear from the floor below left her trembling in her bed that night.

Mari returned to the little shack the next evening, appearing quietly at the door and leading the three miserable people to Mick and Ralph's.

 

"I still don't understand why we're here. And who all these people are," MacCready said, wrapping an arm around Nora to steady her. They both looked exhausted. Even Duncan was nodding off, his face buried in his father's shoulder.

"This is my meeting spot," Mari replied. "And these are my friends." She perched herself on an old washing machine next to Arcade Gannon.

MacCready hiked up Duncan on his hip. "All these people are _your_ friends?" he asked skeptically.

"Sure are." Mari accidentally locked eyes with Rose of Sharon Cassidy, who was standing on the opposite side of the room. Mari froze for a moment, staring rudely, before she was able to offer a small wave. Cass scowled. She was clutching one of Veronica's hands, and from the pained look on Veronica's face, Cass's grip was iron.

Ralph locked the door of the shop once the last few stragglers had wandered in. Mari was surprised to see Sergio, one of the Kings. Mr. House and the Kings had been on good terms after the gang had gone nuts on some NCR rangers, so Sergio's presence was alarming.

"Serg, who the hell told you about this meeting?" Mari demanded.

Sergio lifted his hands in front of his chest as if Mari would shoot him. Maybe she would. "Dr. Gannon."

Mari swiveled to face Arcade.

"It's fine," he said with a wave. "Sergio is on our side. Shouldn't we get started, Mari?"

"Fine." Mari slid off the washing machine and made an awkward attempt at some sort of bow. "Howdy. Glad to see ya'll back this week. Or, for the newcomers, welcome. So, a lot has happened since our last meeting. Things have become... urgent. Someone is in immediate danger from Mr. House. His name's Nick, and he's a really good guy."

"And what about the other people House has hurt?" Cass said, her voice acid. "They _weren't_ in immediate danger? Or were they just not good enough guys to bother saving?"

"I didn't say that, Cass. I did what I could." Mari pointed at Fred Williams. "Look, I saved this asshole here. No one made me do that."

"Yeah, and he was  _not_ easy to deal with," Arcade muttered. "I had a black eye for a week."

"Go fuck yourself, man," Fred said. "You're lucky it wasn't worse."

Mari cleared her throat. "So anyway, if you radroaches would stop interrupting me for a minute, we could actually make some progress here." She cocked an eyebrow at Cass, daring her to say something, but she was met with stony silence. "I think it's time we shut him down."

"Wait a minute," Nora said. "Is this some kind of... _rebellion_? Against Robert House?"

Mari crossed her arms. "What, this ain't good enough for you?"

Nora shook her head. "Listen, I remember him. Robert House. He founded RobCo, didn't he? He used to be on TV all the time. That's why his face looked so familiar." She exhaled shakily. "His company made _assaultrons_. Do you understand how dangerous those are? I tried to take down one of those before and I had to dive into a river to get away from it. They're bad news. And what about those robots House is controlling all over the Strip? What the hell are a roomful of people going to do to stop that guy and save my friend?"

"TV?" Arcade repeated. "What are you, some type of ghoul?"

"Don't worry about it," Nora snapped. "What you need to tell me is how you're going to save Nick."

"I've worked for Mr. House for the past six years. Six miserable years that have given me plenty of time to regret everything that led up to this point." Mari looked pointedly at Cass. "The only good thing that's come out of it is information. It's taken me a while, but I'm starting to understand how House works. His body is still alive somewhere in the Lucky 38, but he's able to control any securitron or terminal in his network. I've been trying to figure out how to get to his body without being killed, but that involves disarming the securitrons first, which is why I've enlisted Ralph."

"You've found a way to shut down the network, then?" Veronica asked Ralph.

Ralph smirked "What were your plans if my answer was no?"

"You programmed a fuckbot holotape in just a few days," Mari said. "Your answer was never gonna be no."

Ralph laughed. "Well, you told me about this platinum chip. My idea was that rather than trying to steal the chip and get ourselves incinerated in the process, we could piggyback off the chip and take control of the network ourselves. Then once we have the securitrons shut down, we can take care of House's body. I'm building a little doodad for you to attach to his computer. I didn't expect you to need it right away, so it's still a work in progress."

"Just get it done as fast as you can," Mari said.

"And I don't know about any assaultrons around here, miss," Ralph reassured Nora.

"Shutting down the network should take care of anything under House's control, anyway," Mick said.

"Wait a minute," MacCready broke in. "I'm no technology expert, but what if shutting down this network thing kills Nick?"

Mari frowned, leaning back up against the washer. "I assume Mr. House is projecting himself onto Mr. Valentine like he does with any robot. If we get rid of House's original body, then Nick should have his own body back."

"Nick's a synth," MacCready said, scowling. "Something you know nothing about. How the heck do you know you _won't_ kill Nick? This is like... like trusting toddlers to fly a vertibird. This House guy could have hopped over into Nick's body. For all you know, he doesn't need the old one anymore and we're just wasting our time."

"We're trying our best," Mari protested. "Listen, bud, I'm trying to save Valentine, too, okay? Do you folks have a better solution?"

"I've contacted some people from home to help," Nora said softly.

Mari had to suppress a disbelieving laugh. "You're from the Boston Commonwealth, right? Listen, sweetie, the Mojave Express is _very_ fast with the mail--I should know--but even if they got the message today, your friends ain't gonna get here for months unless they're riding on fucking deathclaws. We don't have that kind of time to spare."

"But we still have to wait until this network disrupter is finished," Mac said. "So, what, we just live in a shed until you tell us it's time to come out?"

Mari sighed. "Yeah, that's how it's going to be if you want your friend back."

Nora stared down Mari, her expression hard.

"All right," Nora said finally. "Do what you have to do. But if Nick dies, I won't forgive you."

Mari met Nora's gaze and nodded sharply. "I'm hoping you won't have to."

 

 

\---

 

 

The Mojave Express was mostly a southwest operation, but they had ties across the entirety of the former United States, and the company wasn't afraid to rely on caravaneers and even the occasional "borrowed" vertibird to get things where they needed to be. For these reasons, Nora's letter reached Sanctuary only ten days after she sent it.

Shaun had been living in their little settlement for two days by the time the letter reached them. The kid seemed happy enough despite his home being destroyed. Living in the Institute had apparently inspired Shaun to be some kind of technical whiz kid. He immediately latched on to Sturges and Tom, following them everywhere and pestering them about their work.

Shaun was a synth. Jess had figured it out soon enough, but the idea that the Institute was creating child synths chilled her. He was a good kid, but he would stay a kid forever. Jess didn't have the courage to tell him this. Shaun had given her a holotape and told Jess it was for his mother ("Where is she, anyway?"). Jess had hidden it away in a drawer in her bedroom.

Jess was heading back to her room after bringing Shaun some breakfast when Preston called her over.

"A courier stopped by," he said. "This is for you."

"What?" Jess grabbed the envelope and held it against her chest. "Who's it from?"

Preston averted his eyes. "It looks like Nora's handwriting. She, uh, worked for the Minutemen for a while, so I recognized it. We wrote to each other from the settlements. Status updates and all that." He sounded apologetic.

Jess swallowed. "Okay. Thanks, Preston."

Jess didn't open the envelope until she was back in her room. Deacon was changing when she came in, but stopped when he saw the letter in her hand.

"What's that?"

Jess sat down on her bed and unfolded the note without answering. She read it twice, then folded it back up. "They're in trouble."

Deacon frowned. "Nora, our favorite popsicle?"

Jess nodded.

Deacon whistled and pulled a t-shirt over his head. "Glad they made it to Vegas, at least."

Jess stared down at the paper, then set it on the windowsill. "I know what you're thinking, Deacon."

"What's that?"

"You're worried I'm gonna leave to go help them," Jess said.

"I was actually thinking about what's for breakfast, but now that you've brought it up... What _are_ you going to do?"

"I made a promise to myself a long time ago," Jess said, shrugging. "That I'd help people whenever I could. Especially my friends. It's not really up for debate."

"They never warmed up to me. You sure they're worth rescuing?" Deacon teased, mouth quirking up into a smile. "But to be serious for once, you do realize we're months away from them, right? What are they expecting? Their best friend Jess flying in on a vertibird, guns blazing, fire in her eyes?"

Deacon started laughing, but quickly stopped when he saw Jess's expression. "Oh, come on. Stop that. Dez would never let you borrow it."

Jess crossed her legs under her and bit her lip, thinking.

"You don't even know how to fly that thing, vault girl."

"No," Jess said slowly. "But Tom does."

"Barely! You're crazy."

"Yeah, maybe."

Deacon cracked his knuckles. "Okay, so when do we leave?"

Jess's head snapped up. "You want to come with me?"

"Of course I do," Deacon said. "I'm way into this helping people stuff."


	26. Chapter 26

"Hey, you."

Nora paused on the dusty street outside Mick and Ralph's, holding out a hand to stop Mac. The woman named Cass was standing off to the side of the shop, one boot propped up against the bricks. Cass was probably in her early forties, thin, wearing a cowboy hat that shaded her flint-hard eyes. One of her arms was looped around a younger woman's waist.

"So, Mari has dragged you into her web of brahmin shit?" Cass asked when they approached.

Nora glanced at Mac. Duncan had fallen asleep in his arms.

"We're definitely in trouble," Nora said, "but I don't know if it's Mari's fault."

Cass scoffed. "It's Mari's fault because that's what Mari _does_ ," she said. "Mari is a rad storm disguised as a human being."

"That seems... harsh," Nora said, but then she thought of Nick, and anger bubbled up from her stomach. It  _did_ feel good to blame someone. "Or maybe not. I don't know her well enough to say."

"Well, I do," Cass said. "Mari did the same thing to me five or six years back. She pretended we were friends, pretended that she was cool with the NCR. Ended up stabbing us all in the back."

"But she's doing her best to fix things now," the other woman said, leaning forward to extend a hand. "I'm Veronica, and this is Cass. I know this is out of the blue, but we wanted to invite you to stay with us until Ralph has his chip thing ready."

"Since Mari is apparently forcing you to sleep in some shack," Cass added, crossing her arms.

Nora hesitated. "It's not that I'm ungrateful, but last time we took up the offer of a free room, our friend got kidnapped."

"Yeah, how do we know we can trust you?" MacCready asked, his voice thick with exhaustion. "And don't be funny. We've got a kid to worry about."

Cass took a sip from a silver flask and wiped her mouth on her sleeve. "I'm not gonna spend my time trying to prove it to you. We've offered you a place to stay. Take it or leave it."

The sound of a securitron's wheels rolling on the concrete shut them up, and they stood in awkward silence until it had passed.

"No more talking about Mari while we're out here," Veronica murmured. "Let's get going. You coming? I promise that Cass isn't as scary as she acts."

Mac looked at Nora. "What do you think? I really don't want to sleep on the ground again."

Nora pushed a sweaty lock of hair behind her ear. "Why the hell not?" she said wearily. "Not like things can get much worse."

 

 

\---

 

 

"Absolutely not," Desdemona said. "The vertibird is for Railroad use only."

Jess leaned back against one of the tables in Vault 111's employee break room. "But I promise to return it. And I'll have Deacon with me."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Desdemona lit a cigarette and observed Jess over the burning tip. She sighed and held out the pack. "Want one?"

"No, thanks. It ruins my breathing when I'm running and..." Jess trailed off. "Dez, the purpose of the Railroad is to help people, right?"

"You're thinking of the Minutemen." Desdemona exhaled. "But I get your point."

"You do?"

Desdemona narrowed her eyes. " _If_ I let you take the vertibird--and that's a big 'if'--how are you planning on flying it? I hope you realize how unsafe vertibirds are for long trips."

Jess scratched the back of her neck. "Well, actually, I was thinking of asking Tom..."

"So then I'm deprived of _three_ of my best agents?"

Jess paused and stared intently at Desdemona. "You think I'm one of your best agents?"

Desdemona snorted. "You're asking that when Preston made you a general just two months after you got here?"

"Well..."

"Plus, you were a natural at the Institute. Have you had training?"

Jess avoided this last question. "Listen, Dez, I'm going to go help my friends whether I take the vertibird or walk, and I know Deacon will come with me no matter what. If we walk, we'll be gone for  _months_. If we fly, we'll be back sooner."

"That's assuming you make it back."

"I know we're busy with the new synths," Jess pressed on, "but please,  _please_ let me do this."

Desdemona sighed heavily, kneading her forehead with one hand. "Have you asked Tom yet?"

Jess felt hope flutter in her chest. "Not yet. Does that mean you're letting me go?"

"Let me know what Tom says. I'll think about it."

That was as good as a yes from Desdemona, who was loath to admit defeat right away.

 

Jess knew that Tinker Tom was in Sanctuary, trying to get the computers in town running again. As soon as Jess was out of the vault, she took off toward the settlement at a jog.

"General!" someone shouted from Sanctuary's guard tower as Jess passed.

Jess stopped running and craned her neck up. Preston was peering down at her, silhouetted against the sun.

"Jess, I wanted to ask you something. Wait one second."

Once Preston had climbed down the latter, he faced Jess and smiled. "I have a proposition for you. How would you like to come to Vault 81 with me? They're pretty sane, for vault dwellers." He grinned and gestured toward Jess's Pip-Boy. "Just kidding. But I think it would be great to get some positive Minutemen representation over there. We could certainly use them as allies, and I think they could use our help if they'd really to listen to us."

"Oh..." Jess said.

Preston's smile faded. "Don't you think so?"

"No, I think it's a great idea. You just caught me off guard. The thing is... I won't be around here for a little while."

"What do you mean?"

Jess rubbed her palms together. "Something bad happened to Nora and the others. I'm taking the vertibird to see if I can help."

It was clearly a struggle for Preston to maintain a neutral expression. "I see."

"What's the problem?" Jess put her hands on her hips. "It's not like I'm leaving forever."

"It just seems like all my generals are eager to get out of here." Preston sighed. "I'm sorry if I sound bitter. Nora and I parted on bad terms."

"I kind of gathered that."

"She really hurt the Minutemen, leaving like that. We need everyone we can get, and she was a damn good general when she wanted to be." Preston stared at his shoes, and his voice became gentler. "Nora was hurting, I know, but I've never used that as an excuse to stop trying to make the Commonwealth a better place. We're _all_ hurting."

"Not everyone deals with stuff the same way," Jess said.

Preston made a noncommittal sound.

"To be honest, Preston, I think we're a lot alike. But just because Nora _isn't_ doesn't make her a bad person."

Preston sighed. "I know, Jess."

"So... please don't be mad if I go away for a while."

Preston scuffed his boot against the ground. "Are you bringing them back with you?"

"If they want to come back."

Preston nodded thoughtfully. "Well, when you find her, tell Nora there are no hard feelings."

"Is that true, or are you just saying that to make me happy?"

Preston shook his head, but he was smiling. "I'm not sure, but it's never good to hold grudges. It's not the... Minuteman way."

Jess laughed. "Just think," she said. "I'll be spreading the word of the Minutemen across the wasteland."

 

 

\---

 

 

 _Get out of my body, you bastard_.

Mr. House paused at his workbench, screwdriver suspended in mid-air. "Well, hello again. I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Valentine."

_I've met a lot of monsters in my time, but you are one of the worst. Trapping a man in his own mind._

"Have you ever heard of utilitarianism, Mr. Valentine?" Mr. House said calmly, setting down the screwdriver. "It's the philosophy that we must do what is best for the majority. This all goes beyond you and me. It may not make sense to you, but allowing me to use your body will, in turn, allow  _me_ to usher in the kind of progress this city hasn't seen in centuries. A screen on a computer can only do so much."

_I don't care about your fancy philosophy._

"Neither does Miss Lopez, I'm beginning to suspect. She's an excellent helper, for sure, but she doesn't see the big picture. She'll kill, but she doesn't know why. But _I_  do. Believe me, Mr. Valentine, history will look back and understand. Some sacrifices must be made if we are ever to achieve progress."

_Progress? Is that what this is, stealing my body?_

_Now you know what it feels like, Valentine_.

Mr. House leaned back in his chair. "Ah, the third in our trio returns. Care to tell us your name, mysterious stranger?"

 _It's Conrad Kellogg,_ Valentine's voice said. _I c_ _an't get rid of him, just like you won't be able to get rid of me. Guess it's your turn to deal with voices inside your head._

Mr. House sighed. "Well, I promise you that I am more technologically sophisticated than you could ever hope to be, Mr. Valentine. I am confident I will find a way to remove both of you soon."

Mr. House could feel Valentine's anger. _Go to hell._

"But look how presentable we're becoming, Mr. Valentine. It must be a relief to look normal for once. Or more normal than before, I should say."

 _I gotta admit, I like what you've done with the place_ , Kellogg said.

Mr. House flexed the new, smooth metal covering his right hand. "So do I."


	27. Chapter 27

Deacon tightened the straps securing Jess to the back seat of the vertibird. "Does that feel okay? We don't want you going 'splat' like an old cartoon character."

"An old what?"

"Never mind. Does everything seem secure?"

Jess wiggled her feet. She was tall, but her shoes still danged a few inches above the floor of the vertibird. "I think so."

"Come on," Tinker Tom called from the cockpit. "I'm ready to get this baby going."

"Feel free to use the minigun if you want." Deacon glanced at Tom, then offered Jess a lopsided grin. "You're lucky I like you so much, vault girl, because I promised myself I'd never get into one of these things again."

Jess laughed nervously. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Deacon must have sensed Jess's apprehension, for he patted her on the shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry. Tom says he's been practicing." Deacon winked at Jess, then swung himself into the front seat to join Tom. 

Vertibirds only had three actual seats, one in back and two in the cockpit. This was fine for the trip to New Vegas, but Jess anticipated an uncomfortable journey if anyone decided to come back with them.

Would they? Nora had been adamantly against returning to the Commonwealth, but that was before Shaun. Jess had taken along Father's holotape, but she didn't know how she would explain the boy who thought he was Nora's son.

"So it should take about six hours to fly there," Tom shouted. "We'll plan to stop halfway through, but let me know if you need to stop sooner."

"Damn, I shouldn't have drunk a gallon of Nuka Cherry," Deacon said.

 

Jess was certain they would die once the vertibird finally lifted off. She'd never had the chance to ride one in her Brotherhood days, and now she wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Jess grasped the bottom of her chair so hard her knuckles ached. She squeezed her eyes shut so she couldn't see the Commonwealth becoming smaller and smaller below them.

"Smooth takeoff!" Tom said once they were steady in the air, his voice muffled under the sound of the rotors. "Told you I've been getting better."

"Sure," Deacon yelled back, his voice cracking.

Jess took long, shuddering breaths until her heartbeat returned to its normal pace. "We're going to be okay," she whispered to herself. "We're going to be just fine." She glanced out the window and felt her stomach lurch. "Or maybe we'll all go 'splat' like Deacon said."

 

\---

 

For nearly two weeks they had slept at Cass and Veronica's house, but Nora still awoke each morning in a disoriented panic, curled up around Mac in the twin bed they shared. She was sure Mac was getting tired of her shouting in his ear.

"D-darn it, Nora," Mac grunted that morning. He rolled over to look at her, sunlight from the window dappling his face. His expression softened once he fully awoke, and he gently stroked the side of Nora's jaw. "You all right?"

Nora nodded and untangled herself from the sheets and Mac's heavy limbs. She sat up. Duncan, sprawled out in a sleeping bag on the floor, had mercifully slept through her loud awakening.

"I keep dreaming about Nick," Nora said, rubbing sleep out of her eyes. "Ralph needs to hurry the hell up."

Ralph had come into some "technical difficulties" (whatever  _that_ meant). Each day that passed was another chance for Nick to be lost to them forever. Veronica told Nora that Mr. House had a hit out on Mick and Ralph for selling illegal passports, so the delay wasn't doing Ralph any favors, either.

Mac winced at Nora's curse, but relaxed when he sat up and saw that Duncan was asleep. "If they don't finish it up soon, we're going in there ourselves. We should have done it days ago."

"Great idea when everyone says that might as well be a suicide mission."

Mac rolled his eyes. "They underestimate us."

Nora snorted lightly and leaned against Mac's shoulder. Physical contact had been easy since that night at the Lucky 38, but this development was tainted by everything that happened the morning after. Nora was normally one to firmly hash out the details of her relationships, but this time she avoided the subject. She didn't think she could stand a rejection. She and Mac had slept together figuratively once, and literally since then, but that didn't mean Mac wanted anything more serious. Nora hadn't even had time to think about what _she_ really wanted after losing Nate.

It didn't help that Cass and Veronica were intent on busying them with chores. Nora suspected this was to distract them from the fact they had to stay indoors, as Cass and Veronica lived close enough to the Strip that securitrons occasionally passed by.

Despite their de facto imprisonment, Nora had to admit that there was something soothing about standing in the kitchen with Veronica and chopping vegetables for dinner. Even Cass wasn't so bad. At first, talking to the woman made Nora feel like a cat whose fur had been brushed the wrong way, but Cass was surprisingly sweet at times, and had a knife-like wit. Still, despite their pleasant hosts, the atmosphere of the house was not one for examining Nora's love life.

"Wonder what they're going to have us do today," Mac said, standing up and stretching. "I'm going crazy in here, and this is coming from a guy who grew up in a cave."

Someone pounded on the door.

"Hey," Cass called from the hallway. "Ralph wants us all to meet him at the shop this evening. Get ready. This could be it."

 

Every moment leading up to the meeting at Mick and Ralph's was torture for Nora.

Today's task was sorting loose bullets into boxes. She and Mac sat side by side on the cramped living room sofa. Duncan squatted on the ground, doodling in the margins of a pre-war book with a pencil.

Mac took to the sorting job with ease, his fingers moving swiftly across each bullet and identifying them by touch. Nora had to hold bullets up to the light of the window to examine them. She kept mixing up the boxes, making a mess of things in her distraction.

"If you want to take a break, I can handle this," Mac said after Nora accidentally overturned a box onto the floor.

Nora stalked over to the window and pressed her forehead against the cool glass, glowering at the dusty brown landscape. She really missed trees, even the dead ones back home. Fucking sand. Fucking New Vegas. Maybe it didn't matter where she went. Trouble seemed to follow her like a shadow. Nora turned and watched Mac quietly sort the bullets, his forehead creased in concentration.

"Nora," Mac said after a moment, glancing up at her. "Why don't you help Duncan with his picture?"

Duncan had been utterly absorbed in his sketch, and looked up at Mac in confusion. "I don't need help."

"No, it looks like you're doing great on your own," Nora said, crouching down on the floor next to him. "Want to tell me about your drawing?"

Duncan set down his pencil and squinted at the scribbles framing the text. Nora suddenly wondered if he knew how to read. Mac knew how, but not very well. He loved comic books, and Nora suspected it was because the pictures helped him understand the story.

"It's my friend," Duncan said, pointing to a stick figure. "His name's Sammy."

"From Little Lamplight?" Nora asked.

Duncan nodded, suddenly looking shy. Did Duncan suspect the nature of her and Mac's relationship? Hell, if Nora didn't even understand it, how could a kid?

"I think it's a beautiful drawing," Nora said.

Duncan shrugged and picked up his pencil.

"Nora, come here!" Veronica called from the kitchen.

Nora exchanged a look with Mac, who stood up quickly and followed her into the next room.

Veronica sat at the kitchen table with a set of schematics spread out in front of her. She had pulled the beat-up radio to the edge of the table and was listening intently. Instead of music, a woman's steady voice sounded from the speakers.

"I was listening to the radio, and then there was this broadcast..." Veronica trailed off.

Nora leaned in to hear. She gasped. It was next to impossible, but the voice was unmistakably familiar.

 _\--us, okay? This message will repeat.... This message is for Nora. I realized I never got your last name, but you know who you are._  A short laugh. _It's Jess. We're nearby, I think_ _, but we don't know exactly where you are. So we've landed somewhere out of the way and--_ Muffled voices overlapping _._ _Nora, t_ _ry to find us, okay? This message will repeat.... This message is for Nora. I realized I never got--_

Veronica turned down the volume. "Are they looking for _you_?"

Nora nodded dazedly. "I don't... I don't know how she got here so fast."

"What did she mean by 'land' somewhere?" Mac asked. "Are they flying a plane?"

Nora shook her head. "That's ridiculous. Where the hell would Jess get a plane?"

"How else would you explain this?" Mac asked.

Nora leaned against the chair across from Veronica's. "In any case, they're broadcasting this message to the entire fucking Mojave. Mr. House could hear it."

"People are always broadcasting stuff." Veronica chewed on a fingernail. "I guess House might be interested if he remembers your name, though. Especially if he thought you weren't in New Vegas anymore."

"Then how are we supposed to find them before Mr. House does?" Mac asked.

"We can track the signal on my Pip-Boy."

Veronica crossed her arms and gazed up at the ceiling in thought. "I think it's best if you stay here," she said slowly, " _I'll_ go investigate the broadcast. I'll see if Cass and Arcade will come with me. If these people are allies, great. We need all we can get. If they're enemies, then we'll deal with them."

"But I want to come with you," Nora protested. "You'll need a Pip-Boy to track the signal."

Veronica lifted an eyebrow and looked pointedly at Nora's wrist. "That thing isn't glued to you, is it?"

Nora covered the Pip-Boy with her other hand and stared Veronica down.

"Come on, Nora, don't be like this. I can always get Mari's Pip-Boy."

"Maybe we  _should_ stay behind, Nora," Mac said. "Who's going to watch Duncan if we go?"

"You stay here with him. I'm going. It's not up for debate." Nora turned back to Veronica. "You go get Cass and Arcade, and we'll get going. If we leave soon we can get back in time to meet up at Mick and Ralph's."

Veronica shook her head. "Fine, but I hope you realize how stupid this is."

Once Veronica was out the door, Mac rounded on Nora.

"What the hell are you thinking?" he growled.

"What do you mean? It's my fault Jess is here. I need to stop letting other people do my work."

"But you're going without _me_?"

"I don't need a chaperone. Or your permission."

Mac scrubbed a hand over his face. "Nora, I don't want to fight with you--"

"Then stop."

Mac groaned. "How am I supposed to know you're okay if I'm not with you?"

"I guess you just have to trust that I can take care of myself."

Mac sat down heavily at the kitchen table, burying his face in his hands. Nora hesitated, then took the seat next to him. A warm breeze and the pungent smell of flowers washed over them from the window.

"Is this about Lucy?" Nora asked gently.

Mac looked up at her with narrowed eyes. "It's about  _you_." He sighed. "But yeah, maybe I'm tired of losing people I love. Which, by the way, I love you, in case you haven't noticed."

A lump formed in Nora's throat. "Mac... I'm going to go find Jess, then I'm coming back here. Okay? I promise." She gazed down at her hands, then spoke quietly. "I love you, too, you know."

 

 

\---

 

 

Jess sat with Deacon and Tom on the top of the vertibird. They shared some sandwiches they had packed, gazing out across the sandy expanse. They had landed the aircraft next to some mountains, away from any sign of civilization.

"I just hope this lady is listening to the radio," Tom said.

"She's usually got some sort of music on," Jess said, frowning at a piece of gristle in her sandwich. "If no one shows up, we can always move out."

"I hope she's a fast walker, 'cause I'm burning to a crisp right now," Deacon muttered, throwing his arms over his head for shade. "Last time I was in this part of the world, I peeled for days."

He grew quiet when Jess and Tom stared at him. "What?" he asked. "You think I've spent my whole life in the Commonwealth?"

Jess shook her head. "I can't tell if you're bullshitting us, but right now I'm too hot to care."

"Oh, I believe him," said Tom.

Deacon laughed, adjusting his sunglasses. "But you also think I'm a time traveler, Tom, so..."

"Hey," Tom said suddenly. "Is that a mirage, or are there people headed this way?"

Jess held a hand over her eyes and squinted at the horizon. "You're right." She fished her pistol out of her bag and held it against her chest. "Anyone have binoculars?"

Deacon thrust a pair into Jess's free hand.

"Group of four," Jess murmured, peering through the glass. "No MacCready, as far as I can tell. No Nick, either... Wait... wait! One of them looks familiar. Do you think it's Nora? Short... Dark hair. Definitely could be her."

"Who's she with, if it's not MacCready and Valentine?"

Jess shrugged. "I don't recognize them. It's two women and a man."

"Be ready," Deacon said, loading a submachine gun. "Just in case."

The three stood like statues on the top of the vertibird, weapons pressed to faces. Jess felt a bead of sweat drip down her nose but resisted the urge to wipe it away.

Once the little group on the ground had spotted the vertibird, they rushed toward it, shouting. Only when they were a few yards away did Jess realize they were calling her name.

"Nora?" she shouted, relaxing her grip on the pistol.

"Jess!" Nora yelled, running now.

Jess dropped her gun and slid to the ground, allowing Nora to tackle her in a tight hug.

"I can't believe you really came," Nora said into her shoulder. Nora lifted her head, and her eyes widened. "Ryan?"

"His name's Deacon, actually. Long story," Jess said as Deacon and Tom climbed down from the roof. "And this is Tom. He's Railroad, too."

Nora's travelling party caught up to her, panting heavily.

"Arcade, Cass, Veronica," Nora said, pointing to each person. "This is Jess, Deacon, and Tom."

An awkward moment of nodding in acknowledgement passed, then the seven of them stood in silence.

"An actual vertibird," Arcade finally said, stepping up to the plane and running a hand along its side. He noticed the Brotherhood of Steel insignia. "You're Brotherhood?"

"No. It's... borrowed," Deacon said.

"Too bad you're not Brotherhood." Veronica crossed her arms and gazed up at the plane. "You might have been able to convince them to get out of their hole and help us. I've been trying for months."

Tom made a face, but Jess spoke before he could: "Nora, where are Nick and Mac?"

Nora's smile disappeared. "Mac's fine, but Nick... Well, that's why I asked you to come here."

She quickly explained the situation to Jess. "And that's why we need to get back to Freeside right away. Mari has been trying to keep tabs on Mr. House, but we won't really know if Nick is okay until we hack into his network."

"Let's get going, then," Jess said.

"I'm gonna hang back and watch over the vertibird," Tom said, snapping on a pair of goggles. "Someone should also probably stop that radio broadcast."

"You sure, Tom?" Deacon asked.

"I got enough food and water for a while," he said. "Someone's gotta protect this baby if we want to get home."

"Don't move it any closer to the city," Veronica warned.

"And watch out for critters," added Cass.

 

 

\---

 

 

The mood at Mick and Ralph's that evening was one of anxious excitement. Mari was running late, and Ralph was shuffling impatiently from one foot to the other.

"She gives me shit for taking a long time, then doesn't show up," Ralph complained.

"I hope that's not a bad sign," Nora whispered to Mac. One of his arms was slung over her shoulder, his other resting on Duncan's back to make sure he didn't wander away.

Ryan--no, Deacon--stood next to Jess by the front door. They were talking to each other in hushed tones. All Nora could make out was the word "holotape." Now that Deacon wasn't stalking Nora or following her with his eyes, he seemed a lot less threatening. Still, Nora didn't trust anyone who wore sunglasses indoors.

Mari finally burst into the shop, wearing her stained overalls and cowboy boots as usual. She glared at Jess and Deacon. "Who the fuck are you?"

"They're safe," Veronica reassured her as Mick stepped up to lock the door. "Nora's friends from back home."

Mari pursed her lips and ran her eyes over the newcomers as if she were scanning them for danger. "All right. Moving on." She pointed at Ralph. "You. You slow, slow man."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm talking about how long it took you to build this _thing_ , in case I wasn't clear. So let me just go over this... You can program a sex robot in a few days--" Mac covered Duncan's ears. "--but it takes you almost two weeks to do something that's actually important?"

"Hey, now, he's been working almost 24/7," Mick said. "This was some tough shit, Mari."

"I'll tell you what's tough shit," Mari said, her voice climbing octaves. "What I'll do to you if your delay costs us someone's life. Do I need to remind you that you're on House's list, too?"

"Mari, relax," Arcade said.

Mari closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. "Okay, okay. Let's focus. So everything is good to go?"

Ralph nodded, looking a bit startled by Mari's outburst. "Yep, should be. Are... uh... are you just planning on walking in there and plugging it in? Will he let you do that?"

"Yeah, that's the plan. The only hard part will be convincing him to open the doors to the penthouse. I used to be allowed in there all the time, but since he kidnapped Valentine... Well, he's been real secretive." Mari shrugged. "But I'll just make some shit up. Like I need to update him on your and Mick's status, maybe."

"Someone should go with you," Veronica said. "I don't like the idea of you being by yourself in there. If those securitrons go after you..."

Mari snorted. "Great idea, but that would be suspicious, seeing as it's normally just my lonesome self in there. The only time I let people in is when..." She reddened. "Well, it doesn't matter. The point is, House knows most of your faces."

"He doesn't know our faces," Jess spoke up, lifting a hand. "Deacon and I could be your backup."

Mari's blush deepened. "Look, whoever you are, I appreciate the offer, but I think it'll be better if I go alone."

Veronica sighed. "Mari's saying that because she only brings prostitutes into the Lucky 38 with her."

"Ronnie!" Mari screeched.

Veronica lifted her hands. "Well, it's true."

"Fine! It's true. I don't care if everyone knows, anyway," Mari said, glaring at each person in the room as if to challenge them.

"So if we're your backup, we'll have to dress like prostitutes?" Deacon asked eagerly. "I _love_ costumes."

"That's _not_ what I'm saying. I still don't even know who you are."

"That's the point," Deacon said. "You don't, and neither will this House guy."

Mari hesitated then, squinting at Deacon.

"It would be good for you to have backup, Mari," Veronica urged. "Think about it."

Deacon shook Jess by the shoulder. "Vault girl, this could be the role of a lifetime for us!" He grinned. "It'll be just like Shakespeare!"


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Courier, the Lone Wanderer, and a Railroad agent walk into an elevator...

"Howdy, partner," Victor said as he coasted toward them in front of the Lucky 38, bouncing as his wheel hit a bump. "I hope you're having a good evening."

"Hey, Victor," Mari said.

Mari had one arm wrapped around Deacon, and the other around Jess. Jess had squeezed into a spangly green dress, the sequins of which dug into Mari's arm. The dress had originally belonged to Veronica, and had looked fine on her, but Jess was significantly lankier and kept pulling down the hem with nervous fingers. Deacon, on the other hand, was the epitome of nonchalance, this despite the fact he was wearing shorts and a leather vest with nothing underneath.

Victor's image rolled on the screen. "Mari, it makes me gosh darned happy to see you socializing again."

Mari rolled her eyes. "Can you tell Mr. House that I need to pop in for a chat before I entertain my guests?"

"Yes, ma'am," Victor said. He led them into the dusty casino, wheeling up to the elevator. "Penthouse, then?"

"Yeah, thanks."

The three entered the elevator and watched the doors close over Victor.

"See ya, partner," he drawled, disappearing from sight.

Bouncy jazz music poured in from the speakers. Once the elevator had crawled to the third floor, Jess exhaled heavily.

"So I take it this is a habit of yours?" she asked Mari.

Mari lifted an eyebrow. "What?"

"Are the, uh, _other_  sex workers you hire willingly employed?"

"Aren't you?" Mari asked loudly on the chance Mr. House was listening. Then she turned to Jess and hissed, "I don't know what kind of fucked up person you take me for, but  _yes_ , of course. Gomorrah had a bad reputation in the past, but it's better now. _I_ made sure of that."

Jess's eyes widened. "Okay, okay, I believe you. I just thought..."

"That I'm evil because I work for House?" Mari asked, voice low. "Let me tell you something. Some years back, I went to this place called the Big Empty. Big Mountain. Whatever. These scientists there did some shit to my brain. I think it might be more machine than actual gray stuff now."

Jess and Deacon shared concerned looks. "What does this have to do with--" Jess began.

"My _point_ is that while I was there, I thought a lot about... technology." Mari tapped the side of her head. "What they did to my brain really helped. For the first time since I was shot in the head, I could really  _think_. It was like clearing the fog." Mari stared at the ugly carpet pattern on the elevator floor. "That's when I decided to work for House. Technology isn't all bad, and while everyone else is stuck in the past, he's always looking forward. And working with him... it was _good_ for a while. We cleaned up a lot of the Strip, including Gomorrah." Mari brushed a lock of hair from her face. "So don't think you can come in here and judge me. I have reasons for doing what I do."

"I--I didn't mean..."

Mari sighed. "Just shut up and pretend to be sexy."

Deacon scoffed. "Pretend?"

The elevator crawled up another few yards, then stopped so abruptly that Mari stumbled back into Jess. The jazz music ended halfway through a saxophone solo. Mari could suddenly hear the heavy thud of her heartbeat.

"What the hell?" Mari muttered. The arrow indicated that they were stuck halfway between the tenth and eleventh floors. She pried herself off Jess and mashed the button for the penthouse. "Come on. Dumb machine."

The music speakers crackled. "Miss Lopez. So good of you to come see me."

Mari's heart picked up speed, but she kept her voice casual. "Well, I'm _attempting_  to come see you, Mr. House, but the damn elevator broke down. Can you fix it?"

"It's not broken."

Jess gripped Deacon's shoulder tightly, her other hand creeping up the side of her leg. She was wearing a thigh holster, while Deacon had one under his vest, both specially designed by Mick and Ralph to look smooth under clothing.

Mari laughed. "Okay, what's the deal, Mr. House? Pretty sure April Fool's Day doesn't happen in September. That's why it's called--"

"Miss Lopez, who are these people?"

Mari glanced back at Jess and Deacon. "Um, let me try to say this politely. You know how you have Jane? My friends are here for the same reason."

"I will ignore that implication. Since when do prostitutes carry firearms? Or have the imprint of a Pip-Boy on their wrists?"

Jess's hand dropped.

"I don't know, ask them," Mari said.

"Safety," Jess broke in. "You never know when you'll need to protect yourself."

"Did you know that I could drop the elevator to the basement right now," Mr. House said, "killing you instantly?"

It was as if the air had been sucked from the elevator.

"Whoa, what?" Mari choked out. "Mr. House, hold on a second. Aren't I allowed to bring in guests if I want to?"

"Oh, Miss Lopez, it's not the guests that worry me, I'm afraid. Today would have been the day we ended our partnership with or without them."

"But why?"

"I have... been suspicious," Mr. House said, "but I refused to investigate for far too long. I had grown rather fond of you, and I didn't want to believe that my best employee would turn against me. But when all evidence points in one direction, it is foolish to ignore it."

"I haven't turned against you, Mr. House," Mari said fiercely. "Never. You're the best hope for New Vegas. No one else could have achieved what you've achieved. What  _we_ _'ve_ achieved. Together. Please, Mr. House..." She was babbling, but she couldn't stop. "You can't do this."

"Enough."

The elevator lurched. Jess and Deacon held onto each other, leaving Mari alone. Like always.

"Mr. House," Mari pleaded. She tried to will tears to her eyes but they wouldn't come. "I only want Nick Valentine. That's all. You can do anything else you want, just give him back. I promise to leave the Mojave forever if you give him back."

"Such affection for a man you've spoken to once?" Mr. House asked. "I think not."

The floor seemed to drop beneath Mari's feet, and then they were plummeting. The shouts of Jess and Deacon sounded muffled, far away. Mari wasn't sure if the curses were coming from her own mouth or someone else's, as the only thing occupying her mind was the steady drop of the needle indicating the floor they were on.  _Six, five, four, three--_

The elevator screeched to a stop, sending Mari flying to the ground. On her hands and knees she gasped for air, head swimming.

A new voice came over the speakers: "Everyone, get out of there!"

Mari gazed up in a daze.

"Nick? Is that you?" Jess asked, eyes huge. She was leaning on the railing for support.

"Yes, but I don't think I'll be able to maintain control like this for long. Get out!"

The elevator doors slid open and the three of them stumbled out into the hallway in a tangle of limbs, panting. They were on the third floor now, one of the dingy stretches of hotel rooms.

"No more elevators. No more vertibirds and no more elevators," Deacon muttered, face pale. He immediately lit a cigarette and brought it to his lips with a trembling hand. Jess had closed her eyes and was taking deep, shuddering breaths.

"Okay," Mari croaked. "Plan B. You two deal with the securitrons in the lobby. Take the stairs." She rummaged in her fanny pack and handed Jess a holotape. "Here's the distress signal. Call for backup."

"And where the hell are you going?" Deacon asked, ash fluttering off the end of his cigarette.

"I still have a job to do."

"I'll come with you," Jess said. "When everyone else gets here, they'll take care of the lobby, but you need backup now."

"I'll head downstairs," Deacon said, taking the holotape from Jess. He pulled her into a tight hug, then nodded at them. "Stay safe."

 

The distress signal was the song "Orange Colored Sky" solely because they needed something that never played on the Mojave radio stations, and Nora happened to have a holotape of it. Mari turned on her radio as they took the stairs in two, laughing in relief when she finally heard the opening notes. The rest of the resistance would be on their way to the Strip now. It was a shame Veronica hadn't been able to get the Brotherhood on board (apparently playing dead underground was a full time job), but at least Mick and Ralph's would keep them well supplied.

Jess didn't seem winded at all, but Mari's former habit to avoid stairs whenever possible meant her legs were aching halfway to the penthouse. However, securitrons had problems going up and down stairs, so she and Jess were safest in the stairwell. Besides, Mari expected she would forever be terrified of elevators after this adventure.

From far below, gunfire sounded. Mari whipped out her pistol and turned off the safety.

"You got anything better than this?" Jess asked, pulling a tiny gun out of her thigh holster.

"There's a stun baton in my backpack. Although if I were you, I wouldn't let a securitron get close enough for me to use it."

"Better than nothing," Jess said.

"I also have about ten plasma grenades, so watch yourself rummaging around in there," Mari said as Jess reached into her backpack.

 

 

\---

 

 

_Flash! Bam! Alakazam!_

Nora ducked behind one of the counters in the Lucky 38 casino. A bullet hit the cash register right above her head and she had to scramble back on her hands to avoid the machine before it toppled to the floor, coughing up poker chips and paper money.

Mac placed a steady hand on her back. "Careful." He lifted his sniper rifle to his shoulder, peered through the scope with one eye, and took a quick shot at a securitron, grunting at the recoil.

Nora climbed back to her knees and peered over the counter just in time to see Veronica power fist a securitron right in the screen.

"Destruction of law officers is a capital offense," the robot said, twitching on the floor.

Nora turned to Mac and whispered, "Once there's a clear path, we'll head upstairs, okay?"

"You got it, boss," he said, glancing over at her and winking. Nora's stomach fluttered.

"Nobody take the elevator!" Deacon shouted from the other side of the room. "Bad shit happens in the elevator."

Nora's eyes darted around until she found the stairwell entrance.

"Shit, that's even further away," she muttered.

"We've got this," Mac said, removing his hat and pushing back sweaty hair from his forehead. "When I say 'run,' will you be ready to make a break for it?"

Nora nodded.

Mac aimed his rifle again and took out another securitron. "All right... Run!"

He took hold of Nora's hand and they darted around the counter and sprinted toward the door. Cass saw what they were doing and began firing at the securitrons closest to them. The distance was short, but Nora's lungs were on fire. They neared the door and she reached out and pulled the handle, swinging it open--

"Fuck!" Mac yelled, crashing into the floor.

"Mac, what's wrong?" Nora helped him to his feet and pulled him back into the stairwell, letting the heavy door fall shut behind them. Mac winced when she set him down on the carpeted stairs.

"Shot. In the leg," Mac hissed through clenched teeth, gripping his left ankle. "Oh,  _fuck_ , that hurts. Don't tell Duncan I said that. Oh, shit."

Nora rummaged in her bag for a stimpak and bit off the plastic around the needle. "Hold still."

Mac squeezed his eyes shut when Nora jabbed the needle into his leg, directly above the wound. Blood was seeping into his pants, but hopefully the stimpak would help with that.

"Mac, we have to move before anything follows us in here."

Mac nodded, eyes still closed. "Help me up."

Nora allowed Mac to lean on her. He avoided putting weight on his left leg, but Nora could tell each step upstairs was torture.

"Leave me here," he said when they reached the second floor landing. "I don't think they'll come up this far." Before Nora could open her mouth, he added. "Don't try to say, 'No, Mac, I can't leave you here.' Yes, you can. Go upstairs and get Nick. I'll be okay."

"But--"

"Nora, come on. We're wasting time."

Nora leaned down so they were eye-to-eye, then kissed him. "Have it your way. See you in a bit." She hoped Mac didn't hear the catch in her voice.

Mac smiled. "Go get 'em."

 

 

Nora narrowly missed the radius of a plasma grenade when she entered the Penthouse floor, leaping back from a wave of green light.

"Take that, bitches!" she heard Mari cackle.

"Don't shoot me!" Nora called when she stepped out onto the top of the stairs. The setting sun lit the room a warm orange that contrasted with the utter carnage of robotic parts spread out across the ground.

Below her, Mari and Jess stood back to back. A massive computer screen filled the wall behind them, declaring "CONNECTION LOST." The desk below it was covered in smaller monitors filled with static.

"We can't find Nick," Jess called to Nora. She held a pistol in one hand and a stun baton in the other.

Nora darted down the stairs. "Are there any securitrons left?"

"That grenade should have wiped out the last of them," Mari said, right before another one wheeled out from behind a curtain. "Guess I lied!"

The three women aimed and fired in unison, knocking the securitron to the floor in seconds. Smoke rose up from the body in gentle tendrils.

They stared at each other for a moment.

Jess raised her eyebrows. "Not to brag, but that was pretty impressive."

"Yeah, yeah. Save it for when the Brotherhood of Shit is hiring," Mari said. She jogged over to the stairwell and ducked underneath it. Nora followed her. "Should be a terminal back here. Aha! Found it." She pulled Ralph's flash drive from her fanny pack and plugged it in. "Wish I could have reached this before we had to fight all those fucking things."

Nora glanced back toward the giant computer screen. "How do we know it's working?"

"If more securitrons don't crawl out of the basement to kill us, I guess," Mari said.

"Does this mean Nick has his body back now?"

"Well, that's the idea," Mari murmured, tapping the keyboard. "But we're not done yet."

Nora jumped as the wall slid back, revealing another room behind it. In this room, columns of blinking lights stretched from floor to ceiling, and thick black wires intersected across the floor. The smell of ozone hit Nora in a wave.

"Mr. House's body should be back here somewhere," Mari said, stepping through the space in the wall. "Look around."

A pair of securitrons lay on the tiled floor, screens blank.

"It worked," Jess exclaimed, kneeling down to prod at one with her stun baton. "Is it strange that I feel sort of guilty for killing them all?"

"Yes," Mari said. She walked up to a pair of double doors in the back of the room. "An elevator. This has to be it."

She glared into the terminal next to the elevator, typing furiously, until the doors slid open.

"Think you can handle another elevator ride?" Mari asked Jess.

Jess looked sick. "I don't know."

"Why don't you stay here and look for Nick?" Nora said.

Jess smiled at her gratefully. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I'll do that. But Mari, will  _you_ be okay?"

Mari wiped her hands on her overalls, then shrugged. "I owe it to Mr. House to be the one to end things."

 

 

\---

 

 

The elevator ride this time was short and silent. Mari watched Nora fidget, feeling strangely calm herself. This ending had been hurtling inevitably toward Mari for the past six years. It was always going to be her and Mr. House, either with each other or against each other. For all House's evils, Mari hoped the Strip would survive without him.

The elevator doors opened onto a metal catwalk. It stretched out to meet a platform on which rested a casket full of light.

"He's sealed up inside," Mari breathed, inching down the catwalk. "That must be how he survived this long."

"I'll stay back here," Nora said.

Mari didn't respond to this. She approached the life support chamber with a feeling approaching reverence, suddenly understanding the appeal of Atom's glow to its followers. A wrinkled body rested inside, all shriveled limbs and sunken eyes, pieces of machinery digging into its flesh. Mari ran a hand over the glass, watching for a reaction, receiving none.

"Everything okay?" Nora called from behind her.

Mari backtracked to the computer station.

"UNSEAL LS CHAMBER?" it asked her.

"YES."

"WARNING! MICROBIAL INFECTION RISK. PROCEED?"

"YES."

With a hissing sound, the lid opened, white steam pouring from the chamber. The body of Mr. House was lifted into the air vertically as Mari approached, bringing them face to face.

"Mr. House?" Mari whispered to the body.

The eyes remained closed.

"Mr. House?" she repeated. She brought two fingers to the pulse point in Mr. House's neck, pressing into the flesh. It was cold.

"Mari?" Nora asked.

Mari turned around, looking down at the hand that had touched Mr. House's skin. "I think he's already dead."

Nora exhaled loudly. "When we deactivated the network, did it deactivate... him?"

"That's not how it works. He's still... He _was_ still a human body." Mari glanced back at House. "It feels like he's been dead for a while."

Her eyes met Nora's, which had grown large.

"Oh, God," Nora said. "Does that mean..."

Mari gasped. "Nick."

 

 

\---

 

 

"Nick?" Jess called, gripping Mari's stun baton, making her way around the Penthouse for the second time. She checked behind curtains and in crevices, desperation creeping into her voice. "Nick, are you here?"

The radio had stopped playing "Orange Colored Sky" on repeat. Deacon must have turned off the broadcast.

"Nick?" She walked into the bedroom section again and sat down on the bed, dust puffing up from the comforter. "Damn it, Nick. Where are you?"

A hand gripped onto Jess's bare ankle and she screamed. She tried to stand up but fell down hard, the stun baton skittering across the floor. She managed to turn onto her back and found herself staring into the face she knew as Nick Valentine. The glowing yellow eyes stared back at her apathetically as strong hands pinned down her shoulders. Jess realized in the back of her mind that both hands were complete now, no more skeletal appendages sticking out of tattered synthetic flesh.

Jess aimed a knee into the synth's belly. The flesh was solid and she cried out in pain, although it startled her opponent and she was able to free an arm. Jess reached out for the stun baton but the synth regained his senses and pushed her backward, sending her crashing into a bookcase. Books rained down on her like hail.

"Why is this man worth so much to you?" the synth said in the voice from the elevator. Mr. House.

"Why is he worth so much to  _you_?" Jess spat, climbing to her feet.

Mr. House rushed forward and both hands were around Jess's throat before she could react. Jess gasped as they closed tighter. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe, she couldn't--

The crack of a gunshot split the air and the hands loosened. Jess sank to her knees, gasping.

Mari stood across from her, pistol smoking in her hand. Nick's body had crumbled to the floor, a bullet in his back.

Mari stepped closer and aimed another shot at Nick's torso, then another.

Nora screamed. "Stop it! Stop it! What are you doing?"

Mari leaned down at rolled Nick's body onto its back. He was still. "I had to make sure."

"You killed him," Nora was gasping, face red and tear-streaked.

Mari stood up and pointed at the body. "That was  _not_ Nick. Didn't you see what he was doing to her?"

"But-- but what about Nick?"

"His brain," Jess croaked. It hurt to talk. She stood slowly, gripping the bookcase for support. "She didn't... shoot... the brain."

Nora knelt next to Nick's body and cradled the head in her lap. "You mean he could still be in there?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Mari said.

"Maybe is not  _good enough_."

"Then probably!" Mari shouted. "He's probably still in there! Robots don't work like humans, right? If all his personality is in the brain, then that's all we should need. We'll just... have to find a new body for him."

"But House might be in there, too," Nora said, tears dripping down her cheeks. "What do we do?"

Mari groaned and hid her face in her hands. "This isn't how I wanted this to play out, okay? I'm sorry."

"You never cared about Nick in the first place," Nora hissed.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Mari said, throwing up her hands. "I may not have known him for a long time, but he's the first person I've been able to connect with in... in fucking _years_. It's not often someone comes along who's also..." Mari stopped, gazing out into nothing. The pause stretched on, only Nora's sobs filling the silence.

"Put him in me," Mari whispered suddenly.

"What?" Jess asked. Nora stopped crying and looked up.

"Put him in me!" Mari said, wheeling around. "I told you, I've got cybernetic shit in my brain. I might... I might be able to hook him up, make sure he's still in there."

Nora gasped. "Like we did with Kellogg's brain." The other two women stared at her. "This man, Kellogg, he had synthetic parts in his brain, too. We were able to retrieve this piece of his brain and access his memories through Nick. But... I don't know if it was actually Kellogg or just his memories. We need more than Nick's memories. We need Nick."

"It might be worth trying," Jess said, rubbing her throat.

"Even if House is also in there," Mari said. "I'm still willing to risk it."

Nora gently rested Nick's head against the ground and stood up. "We'll have to take you to the Memory Den, Mari. I'm not just going to open you up here and hope for the best. Dr. Amari is a professional."

"Where is this? Back in the Commonwealth?"

"Yes, but you owe us," Nora said, jabbing a finger at her. "If it wasn't for you, we wouldn't be here in the first place."

Mari looked down at Nick with shiny eyes. Jess expected her to protest, but she simply shrugged and said, "No, you're right. This is all my fault."

Jess reached down to pick up Nick's body. "Geez, he's heavy," she grunted, slinging him over her shoulder. "Come on, now, let's go back downstairs. People are waiting for us."


	29. Chapter 29

The Mojave at night was breathtakingly beautiful, especially after a victory. The sand looked blue under the light of the stars, the ragged edges of cacti and mountains smoothed out in the darkness.

Jess navigated her way through the yard outside of Cass and Veronica's house, which was swarming with people despite the late hour. Mari was debating with Tinker Tom the safest way to secure Nick's body to the vertibird. Deacon sat in the cockpit, devising a seating plan for the four newest passengers. Arcade, Cass, and Veronica had plowed through several bottles of moonshine upon returning home; they stumbled about half-dressed, cheering "Fuck Mr. House!" and hugging anyone who happened to walk by.

The atmosphere was overall light despite Nick's uncertain fate, but Jess could hardly blame anyone. The New Vegas Strip was finally free from Mr. House, and Jess trusted her new acquaintances to do what was right for the town.

"Have you seen Nora?" Jess asked Deacon, approaching the vertibird. "I think it's time I give her that holotape."

"Inside," Deacon said, chewing on the end of a pen. "But before you go, one question: Who would _least_ mind being strapped to the top of the vertibird?"

Fred Williams sidled up to Jess before she could respond. "Hey, there, pretty lady," he slurred, sloshing beer onto Jess's front.

"Ugh." Jess made a face and headed toward the house, fanning out her shirt.

The mood inside was more subdued. In the living room, MacCready rested on the couch, one leg wrapped up in gauze and propped up on the coffee table. Nora sat at Mac's side. She held a balled up tissue in one hand and a drink in the other. Duncan had fallen asleep in the armchair across from them with his thumb in his mouth.

"Hi," Nora said when she noticed Jess. Dark circles rimmed her eyes. "Do we have a estimated time of departure yet?"

"I wouldn't expect to leave until the morning," Jess replied, leaning back against the wall. Maybe this wasn't the best time to break the news. "Do you want to get some sleep?"

"Listen, I heard you talking to Deacon outside," Nora said, setting her drink next to the flickering table lamp. "What's this about a holotape?"

Oh. Now that Jess thought about it, the vertibird was parked right beside the living room window.

"Come on. I can handle it," Nora said.

Jess rubbed her hands together. "So... A lot has happened since we saw each other last."

They paused when Arcade burst into the room and headed to the kitchen without seeming to notice any of them. Seconds later, he passed them again with an armful of beer bottles.

"Is this about the Institute?" Nora said finally.

Jess hesitated. "Yes. It's... no longer a threat."

Nora blinked rapidly, but otherwise her expression remained the same. "Is Shaun dead?"

Jess looked away and nodded. "I'm so sorry, Nora."

Nora sighed heavily, leaning back and rubbing her eyes. "I know I should be feeling something right now, but that man was so far removed from my son that it's like talking about a stranger."

"We evacuated all we could, but he wouldn't go," Jess said, still feeling as if she owed Nora an explanation. "But he asked me to give you this holotape."

"He did?" Nora accepted the tape and stared down at the word "MOTHER" written in permanent marker, expression softening. "I didn't know he ever thought about me."

"You sure you want to listen to it?" Mac asked, leaning over.

Nora nodded quietly and slid the tape into her Pip-Boy.

 _If you are hearing this, Nora... Mother... then whatever conflicts you and I have endured are over. I have no reason to believe you'll honor the request I'm about to make, but I feel compelled to try anyway. This synth child version of me, this..._   _boy._ _He deserves more. He has been re-programmed to believe he is your son. It is my hope that you will take him with you. I would ask only that you give him a chance. A chance to be a part of whatever future awaits the Commonwealth._

A heavy sigh. _There is... something else. When the Institute scientists recovered me from Vault 111, they also made an impression of my biological father's brain. His personality and memories, all recorded. We created a synth version of my father onto which we loaded these memories. It was my hope that if you chose to work at my side, I could present you with him as an apology of sorts. I do not know if the synthetic Nate will survive whatever happens between us, but if he does, both he and you, and especially Shaun, deserve a chance to... to be a family. Please, take care of them._

Nora pressed a hand to her mouth. MacCready, despite the obvious pain, had risen to his feet midway through the tape and limped to the window, back turned to them. Nora hadn't seemed to notice.

"Jess, is this true?" Nora asked. "Synth Shaun thinks I'm his mother?"

"Yes. I've met Shaun," Jess said. "He's living with us at Sanctuary."

Nora inhaled sharply.

"Shaun is a great kid. I'm sorry I waited until now to tell you, but he's going to be so excited to see you. We all really love him."

Nora held a shaking hand to her temple. "And... and Nate?" His name came out as a whisper.

Jess couldn't see MacCready's expression, but his head bowed at the question.

"I haven't seen Nate," Jess said. "I'm sorry. He may not have evacuated the Institute."

Nora nodded numbly. "Maybe that's for the best. Nate wouldn't have liked to see what the world has become. It's just... It's a shame he had to die twice." Her voice had raised in pitch, but she retained her composure.

Jess squeezed Nora's shoulder. "Let me know if you want to talk."

"Thanks, but not... not right now."

"I'll be right outside if you need anything."

As Jess left, she passed by Mac. He lifted his head and looked at her with red eyes.

Jess leaned in to whisper in his ear: "I know it hurts, but don't make this about you."

Mac's pained expression lingered in Jess's mind as she turned away and went outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nearing the end! There will be one chapter after this one, and that will bring us to the sequel, coming soon.


	30. Chapter 30

Nora was going to see her son.

The thought kept her from panicking as the vertibird rose into the pink desert sky. They had decided to use the backseat chair in shifts, with Jess strapped in first. This left Nora, Mari, and Deacon to spend the first stretch of the flight sitting on the floor and gripping the handlebars. Nora didn't even mind this. She just squeezed her eyes shut and thought of Sanctuary.

Tinker Tom had secured Nick's body to the floor with ropes. It was undignified, and Nora didn't like to look at the closed eyes of the synth who had been one of her first friends in this brave new world. She sent him a silent vow to return the kindness he had shown her.

Nora promised to do right by the others in the Commonwealth, too. Piper. Hancock. Preston. Especially Preston. If he would take her back, she would be the best damn Minuteman she could be. So long as Nora had her son back, she felt like she could do anything. It didn't matter if he wasn't the boy she had given birth to two hundred years ago. She would love him.

Nora glanced at Mac and Duncan, who were sharing the passenger seat next to Tinker Tom, and she started smiling in spite of herself. Mac looked back at her and returned the smile, arms tight around Duncan, wind whipping his hair.

Perhaps they didn't form the type of family Father had been thinking of when he recorded that holotape, but they could be a family nonetheless. Nora would make sure of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A giant thanks to everyone who has left a kudos or comment on this fic. Your support really motivated me to keep writing, and honestly, it has been so much fun. <3 Thank you!
> 
> I know this is a tiny, baby chapter, but it's not the end of the story! The first chapter of the sequel, "Ship of Theseus," will be up within the next hour or so.
> 
> If anyone ever wants to chat about Fallout, I'm on tumblr as up-and-atom-cats.


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